Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Where are you!? Nyanko-sensei??”

Natsume was running through the woods late in the evening looking left and right while calling out his friend’s name as loud as he could. The sun was already setting in the distance and the area was getting darker with every passing minute. His voice was hoarse from screaming, but he didn’t mind. At home one cup of hot ginger with honey would fix his throat, however another day without his friend Nyanko he could hardly survive. Therefore he had to continue and take the risk. He was well aware of how much attention he was drawing to himself and he could hear small yokai whispering in the underbrush nearby. As long as there wouldn’t show up anything bigger, he would be fine, he reminded himself.

“Nyanko-sensei!! Answer me!!”

He stopped abruptly when his legs didn’t want to make another step and he took a few deep breaths, while leaning forwards and supporting himself with his hands on his legs. Sweat was dripping down his chin and his shirt was sticking to his upper body. Through the years he had perfected his running-skills, but even he had to reach his limit at some point.

He knew he had come here already the day before, but he just wanted to check again. Maybe he had overlooked something. However the trees and the grass were all looking the same. Even the smell of earth mixed with the first signs of spring wasn’t different from how it was supposed to be.

Nyanko-sensei was already gone for over a week and no one had seen him ever since he had told Natsume that he was heading to a sake-party.

Natsume hadn’t thought much of it. After all this was still Nyanko-sensei’s favourite occupation. Even when Nyanko hadn’t shown up the next morning, he still hadn’t started to worry, seeing that this had happened before and the yokai was most likely too hung up to find his way back. Only when the next day came and there had still not been any sign of his yokai friend, did Natsume start to get anxious. He went to the forest and asked around at the Dog’s Circle, but there had been no sign of him, just as if he had never existed at all.

It was driving Natsume crazy and he blinked away a tear, that was stubbornly about to fight its way up to the corner of his eye. There was no time to grief, he was sure that something had happened to his cat, he just had to search harder!

The sun at the horizon behind the wall of trees was bathing the sky in a beautiful orange hue and Natsume knew that he had not much time left, before the forest would be pitch black.

He took another deep breath and was about to start running again, when he suddenly heard a sound from behind him and an eerie premonition was making the hairs on his back stand up.

“Natsume Reikoooo, finally we meeeeeet.”
“Damn!” Natsume cursed and turned around just in time to see a black cloud moving towards him with lightning speed.

He got chased by yokai his entire life, so this wasn’t anything new. His reflexes were almost inhuma therefore he quickly jumped out of the way and the dark cloud missed him by inches.

“Natsume Reiko...there is no escape!”

Apparently angered that Natsume had dodged his first attack, the black smoke turned and launched itself once more at the human.

“What do you want?” Natsume sprung to the side, getting more and more annoyed that he had to deal with this, when all he wanted was to search for his friend.

“Kill!! Kill!” The yokai screeched and the smoke dissipated and a huge wolf like yokai appeared, which looked similar to Madara only this one was black, his eyes glowing red and his fangs dripping with blood. It was like a scene from a nightmare and from the empty look of the yokai’s red eyes it was clear that reasoning with it was not going to lead anywhere.

Quickly Natsume decided to do what he was best at and he run for it.

However the yokai who was now chasing after him through the woods, was not only terribly fast, it also pushed trees out of the way as if they were made of clay.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Natsume cursed. Since he had been running through the forest the last two hours he had already spent all his energy and he felt his legs getting heavier with every step.

He certainly didn’t want to die here and even less so because of a yokai.

Where was Sensei, when he needed him most?

“Kill Natsume Reikooo!”

The yokai screamed from behind and Natsume could already perceive its presence close to his back. He pushed his body a little more and his lungs started to burn. There was no way he would be able to outrun this one any longer.

Suddenly Natsume felt something clawing around his body and ripping him from the floor.

“Natsume Reikoooo!Kill Reiko!”

The yokai had managed to grab Natsume and was now squeezing his body inside his clawed fingers like a small insect.

Natsume struggled with all his might, scratching at the yokai’s black hands, but it was like it was made of steel. It had no effect on the yokai’s skin.

“I’m not Reiko!! You hear me! I’m not Natsume Reiko! I’m Natsume Takashi! Her grandson!”

Natsume already knew, that even if the yokai understood him, it probably didn’t care.

“Natsume, kill Natsume!”

The wolf yokai held Natsume up to his glowing eyes, inspecting his prey.

“I’m not Reiko! You hear me!!”

Apparently it didn’t because next, the yokai brought up his other claw and slashed over Natsume’s chest, making his shirt tear open and blood trickle from a long cut.

“Ahh!!!” Natsume cried out in pain. He was done for. This time for real.

“Kill…!”

The yokai was about to strike out another time, when Natsume heard something dash through the air, that was different from the sound of the yokai’s claws.

Just a second later an arrow with a talisman bound around it, was stabbing right between the glowing red eyes.

Shocked by the impact the yokai let go of his target and Natsume crashed to the ground, the impact making the air forcefully push out of his lungs.

“Killl!!!!” The yokai screamed in agony and was about to turn into the direction of the attack, when another arrow hit it. This time the yokai howled out and curled itself up into a ball, then the talismans on the arrows started to glow in a golden light and as if the yokai had caught fire the glow was consuming all the black until with one blinding explosion the entire yokai had vanished into nothingness.

Natsume had to shield his eyes and only when the light had lessened he tried to get into a sitting position. The pain from the gash on his chest, was making him feel dizzy. When he finally managed to sit up, he saw a man with a bow on his back approaching him.

Of course Natsume immediately recognized who it was. Who else could it be than the highly skilled exorcist Matoba Seiji? He was probably the last person Natsume wanted to see right now. At the same time he was more than glad, that Matoba had saved his life last minute. Therefore he shoved his old grudges away for the time being. Also he hadn’t seen him in ages, maybe he had even changed to the better by now.

“Kept the habit of letting yourself getting hunted by yokai?”

Matoba was wearing a pair of black jeans and a grey hoodie with a lose shirt underneath. When he got closer he reached out a hand to Natsume, to help him get back on his feet. A little hesitantly Natsume let himself get pulled up. In the process his torn shirt slipped from one shoulder and exposed quite a bit of his upper body, which was mostly covered in blood at the moment. It was a stark contrast to his snowy white skin. The cold spring wind that blew through the trees was making Natsume shiver now that his torso was barely covered, but also the way Matoba’s good eye was scanning him up and down.

“That’s quite the scar you’ll get.” He commented and then unzipped his hoodie, shrugged out of it and held it our for Natsume.

Seeing that he had no other option, Natsume took it with a small frown on his face and put it on. The warmth from Matoba that still clung to it, was welcomed by Natsume’s skin and his shivering stopped. At the same time he got bathed in a pleasant scent, that was probably also belonging to Matoba.

Natsume’s scowl intensified, but before he could think more, he was pulled back into the moment.

“Where is your useless bodyguard pig?”

“Oh,” Natsume’s hands held tight on the rim of the hoodie, while his eyes were cast to the ground.

“He vanished.”

“Oh?” Matoba raised an eyebrow, then he turned around as if he had perceived something.

“Let’s talk about this, but no here. Come.”

*

*
Soon Natsume found himself inside the bathroom of a small café back in Hitoyoshi, where he soaked a few sheets of papertowel in cold water and tried to wipe his face and hands clean of the blood. Luckily the wound on his chest wasn’t very deep and it had already stopped bleeding. Still, he looked like he had been in a fight and he didn’t want to worry the Fujiwaras when he came back home. That’s why Matoba had dragged him back here and was now waiting for him inside the café. Natsume gave himself some last glance over in the bathroom mirror and combed through his hair with his fingers, but it helped nothing. Some rogue strands drenched in sweat were sticking to his forehead and always fell back into the same position. Soon he shrugged and simply gave up. If it was only for Matoba, there was no need for him to look good.

Natsume sighed. This whole day was a mess. He didn’t feel like talking to Matoba, but he should better thank him for saving his life. Maybe if he asked him, he could also help with finding Nyanko-sensei. By now Natsume was willing to do everything, even if it meant working together with an exorcist like Matoba.

When Natsume returned into the main room, Matoba was pouring hot tea into his cup and there already stood two plates with brandied cherry tart on the table. One was in front of Matoba and the other right next to him, was probably meant for Natsume.

Natsume sighed again and slipped into the seat, but not next to Matoba, where the cake was waiting, but opposite him. Matoba instantly reacted and shoved the plate towards him, with a big smile on his face.

“I remember last time you couldn’t try it, because you were still a minor, but not anymore. Eat! It’s really good and it warms your heart.”

Too groggy to object, Natsume took the fork and shoved a piece into his mouth. Surprisingly it really tasted very good and it turned Natsume’s sour expression into one a little less grumpy. The cherry melted inside his mouth and the mixture of sugar and alcohol was well balanced.

“See?” Matoba grinned and took a bite himself.

“Now, tell me about your vanished bodyguard.”

Once again Natsume’s face turned grim and his hand holding the fork fell back on the table.

“I haven’t seen him the last ten days. He meant to go to a party, but the other yokai say he never arrived. No one has seen him that evening or ever since. Me and my friends, the yokai friends, we searched the woods every evening, but there was no sign of him anywhere.”

Natsume had left the fork on the table and was now wringing his hands under it.

“I see.” Matoba said and stirred the tea with a tiny spoon.

“Today I also went again to search for him...but without Sensei by my side, the yokai here are getting bolder every day. Those who wouldn’t normally dare attack me, seeing that they would have to deal with Nyanko-sensei, they don’t hold back anymore. I’m afraid the longer Nyanko-sensei isn’t around, the more I’m going to become a target and...might endanger everyone around me.”
By now Natsume had wrung the hem of the poor hoodie into a tight knot. He didn’t want to tell Matoba how incompetent he was at taking care of himself, but today's events were proof enough for Matoba to figure it out himself.

“All these years and you still haven’t learned the simplest spell for protection?”

Matoba shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Natsume mentally prepared for the lecture to come and already regretted telling the other. However the lecture didn’t follow.

“I was send into the woods today, because a few farmers reported to us a strange incident, where cows and horses were getting slaughtered brutally. At first they thought a human was behind it, but when we investigated, it soon became clear, that no human was able to do such a thing. There was a high ranking evil spirit behind this and that’s what I was after.”

Matoba paused and took a sip from his cup.

“This spirit was the one who attacked you. I can tell you, even if Madara had been there, it would have been a tough enemy. You are quite lucky to be alive.”

“Hm…,” Natsume still looked down at his hands and then suddenly remembered something.

“Thank you for saving me. I probably owe you something now.”

Matoba laughed.

“No need. But if you turn into a magnet for evil spirits and the like, we should really do something about it. What about the Fujiwaras?”

Natsume’s expression became conflicted.

“I don’t want them hurt because of me. They are not so young anymore and they already did so much for me. I probably should have moved out a long time ago, but I wanted to help them as long as possible. However...if I stay any longer, I’m sure any day now something terrible will enter the house, as soon as the word of Nyanko-sensei’s disappearance is out. The evil yokai won’t hold back anymore.”

“Well, if that’s the case. I have the perfect solution.”

“You do?” Natsume’s head snapped upwards and he looked straight at the other, who once again had a brilliant smile on his face.

“It’s easy. I take you with me to the Matoba estate. No yokai can enter the mansion unless invited by me. You’ll be 100% safe in there.”

“What?” Natsume almost sprung from his chair.

“We tell the Fujiwara that I’m an old friend and I invite you over for a few weeks to live in the big city. My house is too big and lonely for just one person to live in. They will understand.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Natsume’s face was red and his mouth opened and closed. He wanted to say so much more, but in his rage he had lost all the vocabulary.

Matoba wasn’t the least bit impressed. He casually leaned back.

“As I see it, you are running out of options. Come with me or stay. Your choice.”

“I….I…,” he started but couldn’t finish the sentence. Logically he knew that Matoba was right, but if he agreed it meant that he would have to take the ‘Book of Friends’ with him. It was a dangerous thing to bring this close to the exorcist. If he ever found out about it Natsume was sure, that he would want it for himself and use it. He couldn’t allow this to happen!

But then again, if he stayed at the Fujiwaras and another strong yokai appeared, then he also wouldn't be able to protect the book. So what was worse? There might be a possibility to reason with Matoba but less so with an evil yokai.

Also Natsume didn’t want to put the Fujiwaras in danger. They have always been so kind to him. It was now on him to pay their kindness back and therefore leaving his home was the only viable option.

With a long sigh Natsume poked at his cake and finally took another bite and swallowed hard.

“Ok, I come with you.”

“I’m sure you won’t regret it.” Matoba nodded happily and finished eating his own cherry tart.

Chapter Text

Afterwards they headed straight to the house of the Fujiwaras. Natsume straightened his back and unlocked the door.

“I’m back home!” He announced himself.

“Welcome back!” Followed the echo from within the living-room. Natsume turned around to Matoba, who was just about to remove his shoes.

“Please be kind to them.”

“I’m a gentleman through and through.”

Natsume rolled his eyes and both of them went into the corridor, where Natsume slid open one of the shoji.

Inside the room the Fujiwara couple was sitting under a kotatsu while watching TV. Both of them looked up with a smile. Although they had become an old couple with grey hairs, they still had an unusual youthfulness in their smiles.

“Takashi, how was your day? Oh, you brought someone over?” Touko straightened her apron to make herself a little more presentable, while Shigeru just leaned backwards to have a better look at the man next to Natsume.

“I happened to run into an old friend of mine today. This is Matoba Seiji.”

Matoba bowed low and gave the couple his most dashing smile, which was captivating even if his eyepatch was at first a bit intimidating to strangers.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve known Takashi since we were young.”

Natsume winced when he heard Matoba refer to him with his given name.

“We went to school together, however when he had to move again, we lost contact. Therefore I was overjoyed to happen to run into him today.”

“Oh that is such a wonderful story!” Touko clapped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

Natsume wanted to roll his eyes, but he held back, until Matoba put an arm around his shoulders.

“We really were as close as brothers! Inseparable!”

“Haha, yes really best friends.” Natsume laughed without much conviction.

Not minding Natsume, Matoba continued.

“Now, I know this might be a bit spontaneous, but...you see I recently lost my parents and now I have to take care of the big house all by myself. But since I met Takashi I asked him if he wants to stay at my place for some time. We could catch up on many things and it would make things a bit easier for me at the beginning. I know it’s a lot to ask...and a very selfish request as well, but please can I borrow him from you for some time?”

Touko slapped her hands over her mouth and her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh my, how terrible! I’m so sorry for your loss!”

Her husband put a hand on her shoulder, to comfort her.

Natsume felt like screaming. Why did he have to make it this dramatic?!

“Of course! You can borrow him for as long as you like. Takashi is a grown-up, he can decide for himself, but we don’t mind.”

“My house is not too far away. It’s in the next big city and Takashi won’t have it far to return, whenever he gets fed up with me.”

Shigeru also added his thoughts.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I can understand that you might feel lonely living in a house all by yourself. For Takashi this might also be an opportunity. He is stuck with us old people in this desolate small village. I would be happy to see him enjoy his life, experiencing the possibilities of a big city.”

“Right, my dear! There are neither bars, nor cinemas in this village. Takashi shouldn’t miss out on those!”

Natsume’s mouth was wide open, he wanted to disagree and say something like: ‘Hey! Don’t decide these things without me! I’m happy in this small village, I don’t miss out on anything!’.

But no-one was asking his opinion.

“I thank you very much, that you are so understanding!” Matoba bowed again, looking as if he was touched by their words.

‘So fake!’ Natsume thought.

“I’m very sorry, but I would kidnap him already this evening,” Matoba added hesitantly.

The couple laughed.

“That’s fine. Do you want to go as well Takashi? Would this be ok with your work?” Touko finally asked.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it. There won’t be a problem with my work. I take my laptop with me. But please contact me, if you need me here.”

“Of course! But for now enjoy the time!”

Natsume excused himself and went upstairs in order to pack everything of importance. The book of friends was already stored safely inside a belt pouch close to his body, but he still needed some more clothes, his laptop for work and other things. Also he left a note explaining where he was going and hid it inside a drawer in case that Nyanko-sensei returned or any of his other yokai friends would come looking for him.

When he came back downstairs, he had a large travelling bag slung over his shoulder. Matoba was sitting at the table together with the Fujiwaras and was telling some made-up memories about how they grew up together. Apparently Matoba and the Fujiwaras had already become bestest of friends. It made Natsume grind his teeth.

“I’m ready.” Natsume announced and Matoba turned around with his signature smile that made Natsume’s hairs stand up.

“Perfect.”

The Fujiwaras accompanied the two to the front-door, where they wished Natsume a lot of fun and Matoba a lot of strength to get through this troubling times.

Since his family couldn’t see his face anymore Natsume did finally roll his eyes and it made Mataoba chuckle in a low voice.

After they had walked around the corner, Natsume finally burst out.

“Did you really have to make up such a terrible story?”

“But it did the job quite nicely, won’t you say, Takashi?” Matoba’s voice was like the purr of a cat.

“Stop calling me that!!”

“Hm and why not? Ta-ka-shi?” He abruptly turned around and held Natsume by his chin, making him look up into his good eye.

“You can call me Seiji, too.”

“No way!!” Natsume slapped the hand away, feeling how his cheeks became hot.

Matoba only laughed and walked on until they arrived at a black car.

Natsume had seen those in the past already. These were the cars of the Matoba clan, where a driver was already waiting for their Master.

Quickly the driver got out and bowed low.

“Mister Matoba!”

“I brought a friend with me. Please take care of his belongings.”

The man bowed towards Natsume and then took the bag from him and stored it into the trunk. Then he opened the door for Natsume and invited him to get in.

Natsume glared at Matoba one more time, before he ducked down and took a place on the back-seat.

*

*

On their drive to the Matoba mansion, Natsume chose not to speak any further with the exorcist sitting next to him. Matoba didn’t seem to mind him. He took out his phone and made a call.

“I bring a guest. Please prepare a room.”

Natsume couldn’t understand what the other side was saying.

“Not that one. It won’t do. He will stay a little longer, so maybe...why not give him her room?”

The voice on the other side seemed to protest, but Matoba laughed it off.

“Please prepare it anyways. And, please call the doctor over for our arrival...no, not me. Nothing serious, but it should be better if someone takes a look.”

Matoba nodded.

“Yes, by a yokai. Ok, then see you later.”

After some time driving through the countryside, they finally made it to the outskirts of the next larger city. Natsume saw how the area became more and more lively and how they entered a region where probably only very rich people could afford to live. The Matoba mansion was surrounded by a solid stone fence going on for several meters without end. After opening the huge gate, the driver headed along the driveway towards the main building. He then parked the car in front of it and helped Matoba and Natsume to get out. He also brought out Natsume’s bag, but when Natsume was about to take it from him, Matoba gave an instruction.

“You can bring it to Shinobu’s room.”
“Yes, sir.” The driver bowed and vanished with Natsume’s bag into the mansion.

“Hey!” Natsume protested, but then a woman with grey hair bound into a tight knot and wearing an unobtrusive kimono, came out of the front-door and bowed low.

“Mister Matoba, welcome back. Everything was prepared.”

“Thank you. This is Natsume Takashi, he will be my guest for some time. Please treat him just like family.”

The old woman bowed again.

“As you wish. Now will you follow me, the doctor has arrived.”

Natsume got ushered into the mansion and he already started to feel strange, seeing that this house was probably ten times larger than the one of the Fujiwaras.

Soon they arrived at a small Japanese room, where they got greeted by a kind looking man.

“Mister Matoba, how can I be of service?”

Matoba shook the other’s hand as if both of them knew each other for some time already.

“My friend Natsume got wounded by a yokai. Can you please take a look?”

“Oh, well of course.”
Now all eyes were on Natsume and once again he felt how his cheeks were turning pink. His hand reached to the top of the hoodie as if he wanted to shield his chest from view.

“It’s nothing. It already stopped bleeding.”

“Please let me take a look. Those can easily get infected.” The doctor made a step forwards and Natsume’s fight or flight instinct kicked in. However Matoba had anticipated it and his arm had sneaked around Natsume’s back and was now gently pushing him forwards towards the doctor.

“This doctor is working for the Matoba clan for many years. He is quite experienced and an expert when it comes to wounds inflicted by yokai. He also treated my eye.”

Natsume didn’t feel the least bit assured and now both his hands were holding the hoodie together as if he was afraid that someone would tear it from his body.

In the back the old housekeeper bowed and exited the scene, while the doctor gave Natsume an encouraging smile.

“I won’t hurt you. But we should clean and disinfect the wound.”

Realizing that he was acting like a little child, Natsume sighed and the tension left his body. However before he unzipped the hoodie his eyes landed on Matoba and Natsume glared at him.

“Ah, I will leave you to it doctor. He is all yours.”

Matoba held up his hands in defeat and left the room.

With only the doctor and himself left, Natsume felt his confidence coming back and he opened the hoodie so the doctor could inspect the gash on his chest.

“It’s indeed not that bad, you were lucky. Let me just wipe it clean and add some iodine ointment. Then you are good to go.”

“Thank you.”

Natsume let the doctor do his job and when he was finished, he pulled the hoodie over once again. Only then did Natsume realize that he could have changed into his own clothes back at his home. But somehow the scent clinging to it had given him some comfort, therefore for a time he had simply forgotten to whom the garment actually belonged. Natsume grimaced and wondered if maybe the yokai had not only hit his chest, but also his head.

The doctor took his leave and Matoba came back into the room.

“So, is everything all right?”
“Yeah, just like I said, nothing serious.”

“Good. Now are you ready for a little house-tour?”

Seeing that this was now going to be his new home, he should get used to it sooner rather than later.

“Sure.”

They walked through seemingly endless corridors, which sometimes opened up to a beautiful Japanese gardens. Matoba pointed out the most important rooms, but Natsume wasn’t able to keep up. There were just too many.

“And these are my quarters.” Matoba explained and opened the sliding door a bit.

“Want to go inside?”

“No, thank you!” Natsume protested and Matoba closed the door again with a grin.

Then they walked along a corridor which was right next to a bamboo garden until they arrived at a complex which was opposite from Matoba’s room, only separated by the bamboo forest.

“And these are your rooms.” Matoba slid the door to the side and invited Natsume inside. A little hesitantly Natsume stepped into the room, with Matoba behind him.

“My older sister used to live here, but she hasn’t been around for years. It’s just one additional dust collector. Feel free to use it however you like.”

The rooms were like in a Japanese ryokan. There was a sitting area in the first room with a low lacquer desk on the tatami and in the back was another room, were probably the futon would be put out at night. A small veranda facing a garden could be seen, but since it was already night it was hard to tell how far the garden went. Also there was a built in cabinet and another door, which probably lead to the bathroom. There were no personal belongings inside the room. The only decoration was a small tokonoma alcove.

In one corner Natsume spotted his travel bag. All in all it really looked as if he was only on a vacation.

“Thanks,” Natsume said and he really meant it this time.

“No problem. As you can see, this house is indeed too big for just one person. There are not many other people living here. A few maids, the housekeeper, a cook, a gardener, the drivers, security and the shiki. Therefore if you need anything, don’t hold back to tell anyone, even the shiki. Also you can go wherever you like. There are no secrets hidden in here.”

Natsume raised an eyebrow. This sounded like Matoba was inviting him to go snooping, only to reprimand him afterwards.

“Like I said, you are perfectly safe in here. No yokai, spirit or kami can enter.”

“Not even the one who is after your eye?” Natsume blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Come!” Matoba waved and led Natsume outside again, where he pointed at some wooden pillars.

“See that? There are spells carved into the wood and these spells are everywhere. It’s like an impregnable fortress. Only if I invite someone in, can they enter.”

Natsume leaned closer and inspected the writings. He couldn’t tell what they said, but he could feel some spiritual energy pulsing from within the pillar. He let his hand travel over the inscription.

“And to answer your question. No, not even the yokai who is after my right eye can enter.”
“So you could hide in here forever and would be safe?”

Natsume straightened up and looked directly at Matoba.

“Yeah I could, but why would I want to live inside a prison?”

“Oh,” Natsume hadn’t considered this and his eyes went down on the floor.

“Well then, take a rest. Someone will bring you dinner, I’m sure you had nothing to eat besides the cake.”

“I meant to eat later at home.”

“Hm,” Matoba gave the other a taxing look.

“Good night then, Natsume.”

“Good night.” Natsume felt a bit strange, when he closed the door behind Matoba. The first minutes he was rather lost and didn’t even dare to move. Then his hand reached up to the pouch with the book around his waist. The book of friends was there, everything was going to be all right.

He took a few deep breathes and then went over to his travel bag and started to put his clothes into the cabinet inside the wall. Next he went into the bathroom. He expected to find something more oldschool, but the bath was very modern and luxurious.

Before he could inspect anything more there was a knock on the door. With a start Natsume run over.

“Yes?” He called out hesitantly.

“Mister Natsume, I bring some dinner for you.”

“Ah! Yes, ok.” He opened the door and the old housekeeper was kneeling on the floor with a tablet.

She then bowed and brought the tablet over to the small table, where she laid out the dishes, before she silently vanished as quickly as she had entered.

The smell of food made Natsume’s mouth water and he walked over to the table and inspected everything.

This really was like a vacation, because the dishes were first class. Natsume sat down on the floor and picked up the chopsticks. Seeing that he was all by himself, he wolfed down everything that was presented to him. Just now he realized that due to his worry for Nyanko-sensei he had neglected eating for several days already and this had taken some of his strength. It wouldn’t do to continue starving himself. Nyanko-sensei wouldn’t want him to do so.

A while later the housekeeper announced herself with another knock and this time Natsume was a bit more relaxed when she entered. She gathered the empty bowls back on the tray and brought it outside. Then she went over to the cabinet and laid out the futon for the night.

“Thanks!” Natsume called after her, before the door slid close once more.

It was a bit awkward that someone was taking care of everything for him. How was he supposed to see this as a home, when he didn’t need to lift a finger?

Although it was already quite late, Natsume really needed to take a bath. Back in the café he had only managed to get the most obvious dirt removed, but now he really craved some fresh clothes...and to get out of this particular hoodie.

He prepared the bath and showered off all the dirt and blood and when his whole body was surrounded by hot water he let himself relax for the first time in days. The book of friends was placed on a chair right next to him, so he didn’t have to worry about someone searching the room, while he was inside the bathroom. He swore to himself to take the book with him wherever he would go, even if it was inappropriate. He wouldn’t leave it unattended. At least not while he stayed inside the Matoba’s residence.

Chapter Text

The minutes ticked by and Natsume turned around for the hundredth time during this night. He just couldn’t sleep!

It was infuriating, but everything in here felt strange. It was as if the walls had eyes and ears and although he knew that no yokai was able to enter, he still felt as if a shadow was dancing in front of the window. Also there were unfamiliar noises surrounding him, which he couldn’t quite put. This just wasn’t like the safety of his own home. Sleeping at other places had always been difficult for Natsume, but ever since he could also bring Nyanko-sensei along it had been much easier for him. However this time he was all by himself and he still wasn’t sure if he could even trust Matoba. The offer seemed to be very noble at first glance, but Matoba was still Matoba. He had his own agenda when he did something for others.

With a huff Natsume got into a sitting position and threw the covers off his body. His chest was aching because of the wound and he felt thirsty.

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the room, which was illuminated by a little moonlight coming from outside. He scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing to drink in here, not even a cup he could use.

Sighing, he got up and decided to search for the kitchen. He vaguely remembered Matoba indicating it to him during their tour, but he had already forgotten the exact location. He told himself, that as long as he didn’t accidentally enter into Matoba’s room he should be fine.

Wearing only his pyjama and some slippers, he opened the sliding door. Then he remembered that the door actually let to an outside corridor, so he grabbed the first thing he found to put over, which was once again the cursed hoodie.

With a shrug he accepted his fate. It was in the middle of the night, no-one was going to see him.

So Natsume started to search the house and wandered a little aimlessly through the long corridors, looking left and right but not daring to open any doors, afraid that they would belong to any staff member.

Much to his surprise he also didn’t see any shiki. He could have sworn that Matoba would have a few tail his every move, but apparently it wasn’t the case.

After rounding another corner, Natsume was back at the large Japanese garden, which was the centre of the entire complex. It was a square area surrounded by wooden walkways, which lead towards different parts of the house. The garden had a pond, a small bridge, several maple trees and also a part with a stone garden. Natsume came closer and admired the view. The white stones were reflecting the moonlight and they gave the area an other-worldly atmosphere.

Suddenly he saw another person sitting on a big stone in the middle of the garden.

Taken by surprise Natsume couldn’t hold back a gasp and only then did the figure turn towards him.

It was Matoba, wearing a dark kimono with a grey haori above it.

When he spotted Natsume he smiled.

“Are you sleepwalking?” He called over and Natsume hesitantly lowered himself down from the walkway and stepped into the garden. He walked closer towards the exorcist who had a serene look on his face.

“I couldn’t sleep and was searching for the kitchen to get some water, but I got lost I guess.”

Matoba chuckled.

“You are indeed at the absolute wrong place.”

“Oh…,” Natsume felt like an idiot and he scratched the back of his neck. He should have paid better attention. Before Matoba could tease him further, Natsume quickly changed the topic.

“And what about you? Are you sleepwalking?”

“I’m just enjoying the view.”

Matoba pointed his finger upwards and Natsume thought he was referring to the moon, however when he looked up, he was shocked to see yokais who had gathered above them. As if the sky was behind a large window, the yokai were sitting on top of an invisible barrier, pressing their faces against it. Their eyes were filled with murderous intent. If they could, they would cut Matoba into a million bloody pieces. Natsume was so scared he staggered backwards. If Matoba hadn’t reached out his arm and slung it around his back, he would have probably fallen flat on his butt.

“Don’t be afraid. They can not enter.”

Natsume’s eyes were wide in shock, glued to the angry yokai above. He didn’t even register the hand at the small of his back.

“Are you not afraid of them? They look like they want to kill you!”

Matoba chuckled lightly and let go of Natsume.

“I just like to watch them threaten me. It gives me perspective, so that I only focus on the important things. Just one slip...and I’ll be dead.”

Natsume shivered and then his head turned towards Matoba.

“That’s horrible!”

Once again Matoba laughed.

“It is. Welcome to my life.”

“But why are they all gathering here, when they can’t enter?”

Matoba shrugged.

“Who knows. Maybe they are just waiting, that one day the barrier will crumble and nothing will stop them to get their revenge. When this day comes, we Matoba probably deserve it.”

“Don’t say such a terrible thing!” Natsume was distraught, hearing this.

“But it’s the truth. If I should fail, who knows how many humans will be in danger.”

Matoba slipped from the stone and smiled gently at Natsume.

“Do you feel pity for me? That’s not necessary. I’m the best at what I’m doing, so I won’t waste my potential.”

“But...that’s such a burden for one person alone.”

“Is it?”

Matoba turned and his gaze was inscrutable.

“Then what about you?”

“Me?” Natsume felt his throat suddenly getting tight.

“What about your burden? Never telling anyone about your abilities? How is that different?”

Natsume furrowed his brows. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now and especially not with Matoba.

As if Matoba was able to read the other’s mind he turned around.

“Let’s go to the kitchen and find you something to drink.”

When Natsume realized that he had already passed the door to the kitchen twice, while searching for the right place, he felt even more embarrassed. The way Matoba watched him, while he gulped down an entire glass of water in one go, while still wearing the other’s clothes, also wasn’t very helpful to improve his mood. He looked pathetic, as if he didn’t own any decent clothes himself.

“What are you going to do about your lost pig?” Matoba suddenly asked.

Natsume held the empty glass in his palms and rolled it back and forth.

“I’m not sure. I might ask around the yokai here. During daytime, usually there are not so many evil yokai in this city.”

Matoba leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed.

“I agree. You should be safe as long as you don’t leave the city.”

Natsume felt relieved that Matoba wasn’t planning on locking him in.

“However, don’t you want to ask me for help?”

“Huh?” This threw Natsume once again off and the glass almost fell from his hands. Usually he wasn’t this clumsy, but today just wasn’t his day. He quickly put the glass back on the counter and shoved his hands inside the hoodie’s pockets with his eyes cast down.

“Actually yes, with your connections you might be able to find out a bit more. However I’m already troubling you with my presence here, so...”

Matoba smiled.

“You are no trouble at all. Like I said, it’s a big and empty house, one person more or less doesn’t make a difference.”

“Then, would you please help me find Nyanko-sensei?” Natsum lifted his gaze and was looking directly at the other. It had cost him everything to actually ask for help and he felt his ears getting hot.

“Of course. Just give me a few days.” Matoba nodded and then he walked to the door. Before he went outside he turned once more.

“Sweet dreams.”

*

The next morning started way too early. Outside the birds were happily chirping and the sun shone mercilessly right into Natsume’s face. Although there were large curtains, Natusme had forgotten to draw them close before he went to bed. Everything here was still so unfamiliar, it would take some time, before he would be able to get used to it all.

Another thing he would not get accustomed to any time soon, was the housekeeper, who brought the breakfast just in time, when Natsume had managed to get ready for the day and was wondering where he could find some food.

Before the old woman could leave, Natsume quickly stopped her.

“Please wait a moment!”

“What can I do for the young Master?”

“Oh, I’m not a Master at all. But...where could I wash this?”

Natsume held out Matoba’s hoodie. He wanted to return it as soon as possible, but not in the sorry state it was in right now.

“This?” The old woman raised an eyebrow when she saw the bloodstains on the fabric.

“I take it for you and have it cleaned.”

“I can do it myself, just show me where.”

However the housekeeper just laughed.

“No, no, that won’t be necessary.” She carefully took the garment from Natsume and then bowed and left.

It was no use. Natsume gave up and turned his attention towards the breakfast. While he munched on his rice, he thought that it was rather lonely to have breakfast all by himself. Then he wondered if Matoba was also eating all alone in his room. For Natsume this didn’t make much sense. Now that they were living under one roof, they could just as well have a meal together.

But seeing that he didn’t know anything about Matoba’s work schedule, this was maybe not even possible.

Still he made a mental note to at least ask Matoba about this. Natsume was used to eating together with the Fujiwaras, therefore the silence around him was making him suffocate and he almost had lost his appetite. Knowing that he had to eat, he stuffed everything into his mouth and didn’t leave a single grain inside his bowl.

*

During daytime the Matoba mansion looked a little less intimidating and there were more people running back and forth. Natsume strolled through the corridors and met several friendly maids, who were cleaning and greeting him politely the moment he passed. Also it was easy to ask them for directions, since they didn’t judge him like Matoba would.

Soon Natsume felt confident enough to find the most important places and at noon he decided to leave the mansion and try to spot a few yokai, who might be willing to help.

A security guard wished him a good day and when Natsume stepped in front of the large gate he wondered why no one had tried to stop him. It seemed too easy. There wasn’t even a shiki following him.

In truth it was a relief that Matoba let him indeed do as he pleased.

Natsume took a walk around the block for starters to get a feeling for his new surroundings. There were many grand mansions and not very much shops. During his 60 minutes walk he came across one tiny konbini and one park. Inside it lived a yokai couple, but they had never heard of a Madara and they also didn’t know about any other yokai living around here.

Seeing that his search wouldn’t be much successful, Natsume decided to return to the mansion for now. He also still had some work to do, he couldn’t actually neglect, if he wanted to earn money.

So he found himself soon back inside his room, where he pulled out his laptop and started to work on one of his manuscripts.

After graduating from school Natsume had decided to stay near the Fujiwaras, therefore it was impossible for him to go studying at a university. In the end he became a self-publishing author writing about the supernatural. And he was quite successful, with people craving to read more.

Natsume typed away the hours at his keyboard, to find some distraction from his missing cat.

A maid brought him tea and snacks in the afternoon as if magically summoned and Natsume became even more suspicious if there was indeed someone spying on him.

In the evening he received his dinner and once again his heart started to yearn for company.

Afterwards Natsume lost himself in his work and wrote way into the night. Only when his back started to hurt from sitting in the same position for hours, did he stretch and look at the time.

“This late already!” Quickly he saved his file and closed the laptop. Then he meant to get ready for the night. Before he reached the bathroom he turned around, since he had spotted something from the corner of his eyes.

There was Matoba’s hoodie on a clothes hanger, all fresh and clean again. He took it down and automatically sniffed it. However it only smelled of detergent and the pleasant aroma from yesterday was gone. Shaking his head, Natsume decided to return it as soon as possible.

Would Matoba be at the garden once again this night? He had barely spoken to anyone, maybe he could meet him and chat a little and also give back the garment to him. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know each other. He actually knew very little about the exorcist.

Making a quick decision Natsume headed out and went straight to the Japanese garden. He wanted to at least check if Matoba was there. Deep inside his heart he wanted to see him and also not see him. The closer he got, the faster Natsume’s heart started to beat and he wondered why he felt this anxious all of a sudden.

When he turned around the corner, he could already make out Matoba’s silhouette in the darkness. This time it was less shocking to find someone sitting here in the middle of the night and Natsume went straight over towards him.

“Sure that you are not a sleepwalker?” Matoba joked, before he turned his good eye away from the sky and towards Natsume.

“I just...wanted to return this.”

Natsume held out the hoodie and Matoba tilted his head.

“Thanks,” the exorcist reached out and took the offered item while looking a little disappointed.

“I had it cleaned. So it’s as good as new,” Natsume explained, not quite sure how to interpret the other’s mood shift.

“Hm? But personally I think it looked better on you than on me.”

Natsume’s mouth fell open and then he quickly looked away.

“It was way too big, seeing that you are taller.”

Matoba chuckled, then he folded the hoodie and put it to the side.

Natsume had his hands in his pockets and wasn’t sure how to continue. In the end he decided to just get it over with.

“I also, want to ask you something.”

“Oh? I’m all ears.”

Matoba stood up from the rock he was sitting on and positioned himself in front of the other. Natsume instantly regretted his choice for coming here. The fact that Matoba was still taller than him irked him, especially now that he was looking down at him.

“I was just wondering if we could eat together? I mean breakfast or dinner and only if it fits your schedule. I just think, well, seeing that we are both living here now, it seems strange to eat alone.”

Matoba tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

“Haha, how funny you are.” He suddenly put his hand on Natsume’s head and ruffled his hair. The other immediately ducked away.

“Hey!!” He protested and tried to get his hair back in order.

“Then let’s eat together. I don’t mind.” Matoba grinned from ear to ear and then he picked up the hoodie and left the garden, while Natsume could still hear his low chuckle until he was out of sight.

*

The following morning there was once again a knock at Natsume’s door and he already expected that Matoba had gone back on his word, however the housekeeper simply took Natsume with her and brought him into a large dining room, which was probably meant to host grand dinner parties.

Right now however there was only one table in the middle filled with all kind of dishes. On one side of the table Matoba was sitting on a cushion on the ground, wearing a dark kimono and greeting Natsume with a smile.

“Good morning.”

“Morning,” Natsume returned and took a place opposite the other.

“Is this how you imagined it?” Matoba asked while he picked up a teapot and poured some tea into Natsume’s cup.

“Sort of. It’s different from home, because everything here is just...well, it’s not like eating inside a crammed kitchen.”

“No it’s not. I apologize that I can’t offer you that.”

Quickly Natsume held up his hands.

“That’s not what I meant! It’s not different in a bad way. Just different, that’s all.”

Before he would say some other stupid thing Natsume quickly grabbed the miso-soup and took a sip.

“So, how did your investigation yesterday go? Found anything?”

Natsume shook his head.

“There aren’t many yokai here to begin with. Is it because of the Matoba clan living here?”

Matoba tapped his lips with one finger and raised his eye to the ceiling as if deep in thought.

“Probably,” he concluded and then continued.

“I would like us to go search the woods in your town again this weekend, if this is ok with you.”

“Oh? Well yeah, sure. We can go there again.” Natsume was a little surprised that Matoba really meant to help him find Nynako-sensei. Therefore a very small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Good, then we start early on Saturday.”

Chapter Text

Since Saturday was still a few days away, Natsume made a plan what he wanted to do until then. He had to continue working on the manuscript for his new book, but there was also some time left for further investigation.

He decided to go visit one of his long term best friends, who as it happened, also lived in this city. He had tried to contact Natori ever since Nyanko-sensei had vanished, but somehow Natori seemed to have vanished as well. None of the messages Natsume had send him were marked as read.

Still, since Natori was always very busy with his work as an actor it really wasn’t so unusual that he wasn’t available for weeks. According to Natori when he was working on a new movie or series he would simply drop dead on his bed after an entire day of filming. He was lacking the strength to take care of anything else and he would even forget about his phone.

Therefore it was time for Natsume to try and meet with him and if not him, at least one of his shiki, which usually would hang around his flat just in case that another exorcist would show up to ask him for help.

However after Natsume had traveled one entire hour just to get there, even after the fourth time of ringing the doorbell, nothing happened.

Natsume looked up the building and wondered where Natori could be and if he was all right. If he had to start worrying about him too, it would just be too much.

With a long sigh Natsume gave up and on his way back to the station he looked for other yokai. But the few he met, were not willing to talk to him and fled as soon as he approached.

All in all it wasn’t a very successful day and when Natsume returned back into the Matoba mansion his head was hanging low and he wasn’t even sure if the dinner together with Matoba should be something he was looking forward to.

In the end he went to the dining hall with mixed feelings. Maybe he could ask Matoba about Natori. As far as he remembered they were not on best terms, but they at least knew each other from the exorcist meetings.

Only when Natsume entered the room, there was no one there. With a huff he let himself fall on the cushion on the ground and put his arm on the table and leaned his head against them. For a moment he closed his eyes.

“Having a rough day?”

Natsume would recognize the voice, even without opening his eyes. He slowly sat up again and glared at Matoba, who was just taking his place opposite him.

“Sorry for being late. After hunting a yokai through the woods the entire day, I had to shower and change before showing up here.”

“Oh.” Natsume had almost forgotten that Matoba’s job was to kill unruly yokai.

“Don’t make a face like this. I didn’t get hurt.” Matoba waved a hand and Natsume furrowed his brows.

“Or do you worry rather about the yokai than me?” Matoba teased and Natsume rolled his eyes.

“You know that I don’t quite agree with your methods.”

“But you agree quite well with them as long as they save your life?”
Natsume frowned and he felt his cheeks turning hot.

“That was different.”

“How so?” Matoba probed, but much to Natsume’s relief this was the moment when a maid came over with a large tray and started to lay out the dishes.

For some time they ate in silence, until Matoba spoke up once more.

“Did you know that my sister Shinobu is also an author like you?”
“Oh? No, I didn’t know.” Natsume hadn’t known and he also wondered how Matoba knew that he himself was writing books.

“She also writes about supernatural things, but I prefer your books over hers.”

“You read my books?!” Natsume almost jumped up from the floor. It made him feel all kind of things. If someone read the stories who knew nothing about yokai it was one thing, but an entire different story if someone read it, who actually understood.

Natsume’s cheeks were now a deep shade of red.

“I read all of your books, yes. I like them a lot. It’s rather interesting and useful literature for any exorcist. I never knew that yokai could have such complex feelings. Are these all stories you experienced?”

“No….not all of them….I got inspired by someone else…,” Natsume looked down at his hands, which had started to feel sticky with sweat.

“Is that so...and who might that be?”

He didn’t want to mention Reiko, but he was sure that Matoba must have come across this name either way. He had met many yokai himself and Reiko had been famous among yokai and exorcist alike.

“My grandmother, Natsume Reiko.”

“Ah, I heard of her.” Matoba didn’t seem very impressed and he changed his sitting position from formal to something more relaxed.

“So your stories are about her and what she experienced with the yokai? Did she tell you about this when you were a child?”

Oh, oh, Natsume was getting into trouble.

“No, I never met her. She was already dead, when I was born. These are stories other yokai are telling me. They always mistake me for her and therefore they are very talkative about the old times.”

“I see.” Matoba looked at the ceiling and then as if he had an idea his eye landed back on Natsume.

“Reiko was pretty famous and from what I have heard she had just as many friends as she had enemies among the yokai. Then it’s no wonder, that you’re getting constantly chased.”

Matoba chuckled lightly and it made Natsume scowl.

“Getting chased by a yokai is not funny. Especially not as a child.”

“You tell me?”

Matoba stood up and came over to Natsume’s side of the table, who immediately leaned backwards, when the other sat down right in front of him. He wasn’t afraid of Matoba, but after what he had experienced during their first meeting, he was at least quite weary, when he came too close.

“You know why I’m wearing this, right?”
Matoba pointed at the eyepatch over is right eye.

“Because a yokai is trying to steal your right eye.”

“Correct, but why am I wearing it inside the mansion as well, when yokai can’t enter?”

Natsume shook his head, somehow not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. Matoba removed the patch and let the fabric fall to the ground.

When he looked up, Natsume saw the horrible scars around Matoba’s eye and he involuntarily cast his eyes down on the ground.

“I hide it because people are scared to see it. I’ve become a monster myself.” There was a deep sadness hidden within Matoba’s words and it made Natsume look up again.

Without knowing why, Natsume reached out and carefully removed some black hair which was falling over the injured eye. Then Natsume tilted his head and took a closer look, while his hand lay flat against Matoba’s cheek as if he wanted to stop him from hiding.

“You’re not a monster.” Natsume stated and only then realized, that he was still touching the other. Quickly he pulled his hand away. His ears were becoming particularly hot.

“S...Sorry,” he stammered.

Matoba only laughed.

“This is definitely a first.”

Then he picked up the eye-patch again and covered half of his face with it.

“By now I simply got used to wearing it. It’s not that bad.”

“Sure.”

Afterwards Natsume wasn’t able to lead any meaningful conversation anymore, therefore he excused himself and hurried back to his own room.

After he got ready for the night he slipped under the blanket, turned out the light and held up his right hand. He looked at it for a very long time, while lost in thoughts. He could still feel an echo of Matoba’s skin on his fingers. He had no idea why he had done this, neither did he know why Matoba hadn’t stopped him. If someone would have tried to hold his cheek the same way, he would have slapped the hand away in no time at all. Why had he himself become this bold and on top towards someone like Matoba?

*
*

Finally the weekend had arrived and Natsume and Matoba were heading back towards Hitoyoshi. For once Matoba was driving himself, while Natsume tried to ignore the other for most of their way. Instead he looked outside the window, somehow hoping he might spot Nyanko-sensei hopping through the fields. When they arrived, Matoba parked the car near one of the forests and Natsume quickly got out. However before they started their search Natsume stopped Matoba with an outstretched hand.

“We are doing this my way ok? We will meet with my friends and you will only interfere if absolutely necessary.”

Matoba held up his hands innocently. He had his shortbow slung around his shoulder and a few cursed arrows inside a quiver.

“I’m only here to observe.”

“Good,” Natsume was about to turn around, but he remembered something else, “and please don’t scare my friends. They are all very nice yokai.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Matoba mocked and Natsume finally let go of him.

Together they wandered deep into the woods, until they arrived at a clearing where an old shrine with a dilapidated roof was standing.

“Hellloo? Anyone here?” Natsume cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, while Matoba was leaning a little away against a tree.

Hinoe was the first to step out.

“Natsume!!! Where have you been? I missed you so much!! I thought you’ve vanished as well.”

She flew forwards and hugged Natsume tightly.

“I’m good.” Natsume was hardly able to speak, while the yokai was squeezing him against her chest.

However when she spotted Matoba in the distance, she quickly pulled away.

“Why is HE here?!” Her eyes started to burn with rage.

Natsume quickly sprung in her line of sight with his arms wide.

“It’s ok. I brought him here. He wants to help find Nyanko-sensei!”

“Pfft!” Hinoe crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned her head to the side.

“You don’t need him. We can find Madara without his help.”

“Please Hinoe, this is really important. We need any help we can get.”

“I don’t think so, but since you are so cute while begging me, I will allow it.”

The smile was back on her face and she put a finger under Natsume’s chin, who let her have her way.

Suddenly several other yokai showed up out of nowhere.

“It’s Natsume-sama!” “Sama, sama!” The dog’s circle appeared with Chukyuu A and B, Chobihige and even Misuzu.

“Where have you been? We were so worried!” “Worried, worried!”

Natsume immediately had a smile on his face, when he saw his friends again, who all seemed to have missed him.

“I went away, so that I could keep the Fujiwara safe. Matoba was friendly enough to let me stay at his place.”

“The exorcist? Why do you have to stay with him?” Misuzu hissed and threw daggers at Matoba.

“It’s complicated. But it was the best option. Please accept Matoba for now. He came all the way here to help.”

The yokai were not convinced and when Matoba stepped up next to Natsume, the atmosphere turned some degree colder.

“How are a bunch of low level yokai going to successfully help you find Madara?” Matoba asked full of mockery.

“I show you who is the low level here!” Hinoe was about to jump at Matoba’s throat and Natsume had once again to interfere. He gave Matoba a meaningful look.

“Don’t listen to him. He likes to stir trouble.”

“Do I?” Matoba grinned and put a hand around Natsume’s shoulder. By instinct he wanted to shake him off, however in order to help get the yokai’s trust, Natsume endured it.

“Now, let’s concentrate on Nyanko-sensei. I suppose there still wasn’t any sign of him?”

All the yokai shook their heads in unison.

“I thought so. Then let’s trace back his steps once more. He wanted to go to the party that evening. Chobihige, you were there that day, but you never saw him arrive?”

“That is correct. I was the first to arrive and the last to go. If he had been there I would have seen him.”

“Right.”

“What would be the straightest way to get to the location if starting from the Fujiwara’s house?” Matoba asked and all the yokai were staring at him.

Chukyuu A put one hand at his chin.

“I suppose I could show you the way. We are often taking it to visit Natsume-sama.”

“Visit, visit!”

“Then let’s go,” Matoba ordered as if he had become the leader of the investigation. Chukyuu A and B looked at Natsume, who nodded.

They walked out of the forest and back to the Fujiwara’s house, were Natsume was trying his best not to get seen by them. Afterwards they followed Chukyuu A and B along a path back into the forest and through the underbrush.

It wasn’t a very comfortable way for a human, but since this was the only lead they had, it was no use to complain. While fighting with the twigs that kept on hitting him in the face, Natsume fell a bit behind and not long after he heard a yokai from behind, that wasn’t a part of the Dog’s circle.

“Natsume Reikooo! Give me back my name!” It demanded and Natsume panicked. If the yokai started to speak about the book of friends in front of Matoba he was done for.

“Reikooo, please give me back my name!!” Please!”

Natsume bit down on his lips. He had no other choice. He turned around and knocked the poor thing straight out.

“Sorry,” he said and then heard a voice from behind.

“Interesting way of dealing with yokai and I thought you were the sensible one.” Matoba commented and then continued to follow the other yokai further into the woods.

Natsume felt horrible and he swore he would make up for it, if he would ever see this yokai again. He would gladly return its name.

Not long after they finally arrived at another clearing where a small river was running through the area. It was actually a beautiful place, which Natsume hadn’t seen before.

While Natsume was still excited about the view, Matoba had already started to take a closer look and he soon called Natsume over.

“Oi! I found something interesting.”

“What?” Natsume and Chukyuu A and B came quickly running over, however Matoba held a hand out.

“Not you, you two stay far away!” Matoba advised the yokai and Natsume soon understood why.

There was a large spell circle on the ground.

“Stay here, take care.” Natsume told his friends and hurried over to Matoba who now kneeled in the middle of the circle and was inspecting the signs on the ground.

“What is it for?” Natsume asked, although he already knew.

“It’s to capture yokai. And it’s a very strong spell for sealing.”

Matoba got up to his feet.

“This wasn’t an amateur, but a very experienced exorcist with a high level of spiritual power.”

“Oh,” Natsume looked down again, there was something strange about the symbols. Although they were written into the sand, they were still as clear as day.

“They can’t be erased easily.” Matoba answered his unspoken question.

“It’s careless to leave it here like this. Any yokai entering would be trapped in here forever.”

“That’s horrible!” Natsume’s eyes became large and full of worry.

“Come,” Matoba stepped outside the circle and Natsume followed suit. Then Matoba brought out his shortbow and some paper and a brush. He scribbled something onto the paper and then tied it around one of his arrows. Then he shot the arrow right into the centre of the circle and all the symbols immediately went up in blue flames and then the circle was gone.

“Impressive!” Chukyuu A commented and he took the words right out of Natsume’s mouth.

“So, now we know what happened to your fat cat.”

“Yes?” Natsume was too shook to find a clear thought.

“A very strong exorcist has sealed him. So whoever it was, we only need to find him and ask to return your cat.”

“But how will we know who it was?”

Matoba scratched his chin.

“Apart from myself, there aren’t many exorcist that powerful. I guess it’s only a handful, but I will ask around whom of them had recently been seen around here. This should only take a few days.”

“That’s awesome, thank you!” Natsume smiled earnestly at Matoba. He found new hope, that maybe it wasn’t too late to save his friend.

Chapter Text

Finally Natsume had found a clue which might help him to soon find Nyanko-sensei. Therefore when Matoba and Natsume entered the room inside the ryokan, which Matoba had booked for them in advance, Natsume was in a very good mood. He didn’t even realize that it was only one single room, which he had to share with the other.

“It was a really good idea to track back Nyanko’s steps. I don’t know why I never thought of this myself.”

Natsume shook his head a little embarrassed while they sat together at the low table and were having dinner.

“Sometimes the simple ideas are easily overlooked.”

“Right. But it’s strange that no other yokai had come across a spell circle this big. Yokai are usually very curious.”

“Even a yokai fears death. Just like a human who wouldn’t dare to enter a dark cave, a yokai also feels when something is off.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that you would give a yokai this much credit.”

“How was I supposed to survive if I underestimate them? That would be a foolish thing to do.”

“But usually it doesn’t look as if you care about what a yokai thinks or feels.”

“I think that is where you are mistaken. I do care what they think, but I never act on it. That’s where we are different.”

Natsume closed his mouth again. Matoba was probably right.

When they finished eating one of the ryokan’s employees gathered the bowls and then reminded them of the opening hours of the bathhouse before he left, emphasizing the unique quality of the ryokan’s hot springs.

“You want to go to the bath together?” Matoba asked and for some reason Natsume felt his cheeks getting hot, when he thought about undressing in front of the other. Just when he wanted to reply, he suddenly saw something move at the window right behind Matoba.

It was the yokai from the forest which Natsume had so cruelly knocked out.

Before Matoba could sense its presence as well, Natsume quickly sprung up and grabbed Matoba by the shoulders.

“No, I don’t feel like bathing. I would probably pass out because of the hot water. But you should enjoy it.” He slowly but gently pushed Matoba towards the door.

“Have fun at the bath, see you later. I’ll wait here and...read a bit. Yeah, I think reading would be nice.”

With raised eyebrows Matoba held back any more questions.

“Well then, see you later.”

Only when the door was closed did Natsume take a deep breath of relief. If he wanted to return the name, he had to be quick. Who knew how long Matoba would take for a bath.

Natsume put a haori over the rented yukata from the ryokan and then hurried outside into the night. He run around the hotel and into the backyard, where he called out to the yokai in a low voice.

“Hello? Are you here? It’s me Natsume Takashi. Reiko’s grandson.”

“Autsch!!” Natsume cried out, when he felt something hit him against his shin bone.

“Natsume Reiko is an evil bully!!” The small yokai screamed and was about to hit Natsume again, who quickly sprung out of the way and then kneeled down, to have a better look at the yokai.

It was actually a rather cute one, looking a bit like a large mushroom with a red cap and white dots. Only at one corner was a small bump which was probably a swelling from Natsume’s fist.

“I’m really sorry about that!” Natsume bowed and the yokai continued to pout.

“Natsume is a bully!”

“You are right. I am and I am sorry. So did you come to get back your name?”

“Yes!” The yokai stomped its foot on the ground.

“They told me you are kind, but they lied to me.”

Natsume grimaced.

“It was my fault. I will give you back your name right away.”

“Yes, please!”

Natsume sat down into the grass with the yokai in front of him. Both of them were hidden by the darkness of night, therefore Natsume didn’t worry to get seen by any other guest of the ryokan.

He got out the book of friends, flipped through the pages until the right one appeared. Then he tore out the page and put the paper into his mouth. With a clap of his hand he blew out the name and it flew right back to its owner.

“Thank you Natsume!” He heard the voice of the yokai, before he felt his body getting heavy and then he passed out.

*

“Shit!” Was the first word that escaped his lips, when he woke up. There was grass tingling at his nose and the position in which he was lying on the ground wasn’t very comfortable. He quickly got up into a sitting position.

“The book!” He searched around in the darkness, but luckily it was on the floor right next to him. It was a dangerous thing to return a name, without a bodyguard by his side. Anything could have happened.

“How much time had passed?” He asked the night and just hoped Matoba wasn’t yet back from the bath. He quickly got back up to his feet, stored the book into the pouch and run back to their room as fast as he could. When he threw open the door, he let out a long sigh.

“Thank god, I’m back first.”

Matoba would have probably started to search for him, if he hadn’t been inside the room. Who knew what he would have done, if he found Natsume passed out on the ground with the book of friends unprotected on the ground.

Natsume let himself fall down on the floor and was lying on his back trying to find his breath again. His brain still felt a bit fuzzy from the memories which the yokai had left inside his mind.

It didn’t take much longer and the door opened once more and Matoba stepped in. Natsume’s eyes opened lazily.

“What happened to you while you were reading?” Matoba asked with a raised eyebrow.

Natsume got into a sitting position and only then realized that there was dirt and grass all over his yukata.

“Oh that...ha,ha. I felt like taking a small walk in the garden, but I slipped and fell.”

“You slipped?”

“Yeah, but it’s ok. I didn’t get hurt.”

“You better not. Should I ask for a new yukata for you?”

“Ehhh,” Natsume was a bit embarrassed, but nodded anyways.

Not long after Natsume stood inside the bathroom to change the clothes and only then did he see the extent of his small excursion. One side of his face was covered in mud and he just looked hilarious.

“Damn!” he cursed and took a shower, before changing into the new garment.

When he returned back into the room, two futons were lying on the ground next to each other and Matoba was sitting on the ground reading something on his phone.

His yukata had slipped a bit and was revealing a good portion of his chest. Natsume was petrified and he couldn’t remove his eyes. Matoba’s skin was like delicate porcelain even a shade paler than his own skin. His torso was lean, but at the same time his muscles were prominent enough to be seen. Natsume swallowed hard and only then did Matoba look up to him.

“Ah, you look much better now. Maybe you shouldn’t go out alone, if you are this clumsy!”

“Very funny I can take care of myself just fine.”

*

Not long after they both decided to go to bed and each one went under their respective blanket. Natsume turned to face the wall during sleep and the rustling from the other side told him that Matoba was probably doing the same.

Without another word Natsume closed his eyes, pretending to be at home with Nyanko-sensei sleeping by his side. Soon his breathing slowed down and although Natsume had expected to take ages to fall asleep, he had no problems at all. Surrounded by warmth and with a pleasant yet familiar smell filling his nose he soon lost consciousness and drifted into the land of dreams.

However these dreams were once again not all too pleasant. His childhood had already been a living nightmare during daytime, but his dreams had often been ten times worse. And even up until today he got hunted by those memories.

There were no yokai after him within these dreams, but the faces of the people who had mocked, humiliated and abandoned him. “You are a freak!” “Your parents were lunatics. It’s good they are dead, or they might produce more freaks like you!” “You deserve to get locked up and die.”

With a start Natsume woke from these horrible dreams and sat up straight on the futon. He was drenched in cold sweat and the yukata was awkwardly clinging to his body. He blinked a few times and it took him a while to recognize where he was.

The room was still dark and Matoba was sleeping soundly right next to him.

Natsume took several unsteady breaths and let his hand run through his damp hair. The aftermath of the dream was stubbornly gnawing at his heart and he felt close to a panic attack. He needed to focus on something, anything to ground him.

And his eyes landed on Matoba. The sight instantly sent a million complicated feelings through his body. Apparently when asleep Matoba wasn’t such a role model anymore. His blanket was pushed down to his feet and he lay on his back with his yukata completely falling apart. It was a good thing he was still wearing some boxers underneath, otherwise Natsume would have passed out by embarrassment.

Although Matoba’s body was spread out on the futon like this, he still had something otherworldly beautiful about him. With his straight nose and sharp jawline, his face was handsome with or without the scar over his eye. The longer Natsume looked, the more he took in all the small details. The skin on his chest had a pale glow in the darkness and the way it went up and down with every breath he took was mesmerizing. His legs were long and slender and overall Natsume could well imagine him as a medieval prince.

Something started to stir inside Natsume when his eyes travelled down the chest up to Matoba’s navel and it made his throat become dry and hands sweaty.

Quickly Natsume turned his head away and covered his face with his hands. What was wrong with him? His cheeks were burning with heat and his lower lip trembled.

He threw himself backwards into the cushion and closed his eyes. However Matoba’s almost naked body had burned itself right into his memory.

How was it possible that someone like Matoba was making him feel like this? When it came to beautiful men, Natsume couldn’t be more blessed with his friend Natori. He was a model and an actor and Natsume had seen him half naked not only on large advertisements but also during several visits at a ryokan they had done together. However never in his life had he perceived Natori like this. So why when Natori was the epitome of beauty, would he choose Matoba to get flustered over and not the other?

Suddenly a very absurd thought came to his mind. Did he have feelings for him? It couldn’t be! Apart from him being Matoba and an exorcist, Natsume could never get close to anyone as long as he had the book of friends. It was way too dangerous, if he dragged someone else into this and even more so, when this other one could also see yokai and would run into the same danger as Natsume. Sure, Matoba was very capable, when it came to fighting yokai, but freely showing him the book? He couldn’t allow him to have it.

Natsume shook his head vehemently. There was no time to think about such things. He needed to focus on finding the exorcist who had sealed Nyanko-sensei! And then he could just return back to his old life and forget about Matoba again.

*

The next morning they had breakfast in the room together, before they meant to go back to the Matoba’s estate.

Natsume was still too shaken form last nights realization, that he chose to rather not open his mouth, afraid he might say something very stupid.

Matoba on the other side of the table studied him with curiosity, until he was the first to break the silence.

“I think you never told me how you actually met Madara. A yokai pairing up with a human is a rather rare occurrence.”

Natsume who just took a sip from his tea, immediately choked on the liquid and started to cough.

“Oh...that’s…, well,” he said and rapped his chest a few times. Only when he had his bodily functions back under control, did he sat up a bit straighter.

Maybe there was no harm in telling him the story, as long as he left out everything regarding the book of friends and their deal.

“It was one of those days, where I got once again chased by a yokai. I had moved to the Fujiwara just a few months prior and I wasn’t yet acquainted with the most safe routes to take, where less yokai would come after me. Just like I normally did, I run through the forest at top speed and then...I happened to accidentally rip a binding rope. There was a small shrine and inside a tiny maneki-neko appeared. That was Madara and when he transformed into his true form I thought I was done for.”

Natsume made a pause and thought about a way how to sell the story in a believable way.

“However he remembered Reiko and that he’d had a good relationship with her. Seeing that I am her grandson, he decided to spare my life. Also since I was too incompetent to keep myself safe from any yokai, he somehow decided to become my bodyguard. But personally I think he just wanted a warm place to stay at and freeload on my aunt’s good food.”

Natsume chuckled. The memory of Nynako-sensei stuffing himself to the brim with whatever Touko was offering him, always made him smile.

“Interesting and a very unusual behaviour for a yokai,” Matoba commented and it wiped the smile from Natsume’s face.

“That’s about all there is to tell. Over the years we got really good friends and I owe it to him to find him and get him back home.”

Natsume’s heart was filled with a firm determination. He would find Nyanko, with or without Matoba’s help.

Chapter Text

A few days went by and Natsume was still living inside the Matoba mansion. He passed his days working on his new book, eating and sleeping. Not getting any closer to solving the riddle regarding Nyanko-sensei’s disappearance was making him feel anxious, but Matoba had promised him to investigate and asked him not to do anything reckless until he came back with some answers.

But it was so hard, to keep his own feet still. He felt so very useless.

Therefore one morning during breakfast, when Matoba asked him if he had any plans for the day, Natsume decided to leave the mansion to do a small trip.

“I want to visit a friend, who is also living in the city. I haven’t seen him for some time and to be honest, I’m a bit concerned if he is well.”
“Is it Natori Shuuichi?”

“Yeah, how do you know?”

“Don’t get me wrong, but your list of human friends is rather short.”
Natsume frowned, although he knew, that Matoba was actually right.

“However, maybe I can ease your worries a little,” Matoba offered and Natsume was instantly all ears.

“You can? How so?”
“Natori was filming a new movie abroad and he is supposed to return back to Japan today.”

“How do you know about this?”

Matoba chuckled.

“Do you ever watch TV or read the news? It’s all over social media!”

Natsume’s mood turned glum.

“Sorry. I never watch TV and I’m not really into social media and that stuff either.”

Maybe Matoba pitied him a bit, when he gave him a friendly smile.

“I’m also not into TV and that kind, however I need to be up to date for my work. So I have some people hand me in summaries. I guess, when you can see the supernatural every day, things like fantasy and science fiction easily lose their appeal.”

Natsume nodded involuntarily, but he couldn’t help but feel that this made a lot of sense. He had never thought about it this way.

“Therefore if you want to talk about the most recent movies or trends, you should rather ask Natori. He was always the one more interested in these things.”

“Hm,” Natsume felt that something about this statement felt a bit off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Matoba took a sip from his cup and changed the topic.

“I send out several people to investigate regarding very strong exorcists who stayed in this region the day Madara vanished. They will reach out to their contacts and return with a list of all people which fit the description. I think they’ll report back in a few days. Please stay patient until then. I’m on it.”

Natsume nodded.

“Thank you.”

*

After their breakfast Matoba left for work and Natsume got ready to head over to Natori. While he rode the train towards Natori’s flat he felt a little bad about visiting right the day, when Natori returned from several exhausting weeks of work. Still, he really needed to tell him about what had happened to Nyanko-sensei. Surely he would understand.

Also Natsume was positive that Natori’s shiki could also be very helpful when it came to investigating strong exorcists.

Natsume thought about notifying Natori ahead of his visit by phone, but since all his messages were still unread, he assumed that Natori had probably not even brought his device with him, during his time abroad.

When he was back in front of the building where Natori lived, Natsume took a deep breath, hoping he didn’t arrive too early and then he pushed the doorbell.

He waited for several minutes and nothing happened. Natsume rang the bell a second time and suddenly a voice spoke up behind him.

“Natsume? What a rare sight!” It was Hiiragi and Natsume felt relief wash over his body, when he saw her smiling mask.

“You are back! I was so worried about Natori, I thought he got kidnapped or something.”

“I guess he forgot to tell you.” Hiiragi shook her head.

“Come upstairs. He is not yet passed out from exhaustion. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to see you.”

“Thank you, Hiiragi!”

The shiki vanished and just a moment later, the door swung open and Natsume walked into the entrance hall and took the elevator to the sixth floor.

When he got out, he already saw Natori happily waving at him.

“Hey Natsume! What a pleasant surprise!”

“Hello there,” Natsume smiled at the other and Natori ruffled his hair, as soon as he had come close enough.

“Sorry about making you worry.” Natori held out his hand and invited Natsume to come inside.

“It’s not your fault. I should check the news more often, then I would have known.”

Natori let himself fall on the couch and shook his head.

“No, I know that you are not into these things. I should have send you a message. Ah! Speaking of, where is my phone?” He patted up and down his body and then started to frown.

Hiiragi provided him with the answer.

“You left it on the night-stand. By now the battery seems to have died.”

“Shit!” Natori run a hand through his beautiful hair.

“Sorry Natsume, I’m a really bad friend!”

“Don’t worry,” Natsume consoled him with a small smile.

“You want something to drink?” Natori suddenly remembered to act a bit more like a real friend and a good host.

“No, thanks, actually there is a reason why I am here today.”

“Oh?” Natori’s expression instantly changed from casual to worried.

Natsume sat down opposite Natori on an armchair and folded his hands in his lap. His eyes were now glued to the floor.

“Nyanko-sensei is missing. A few weeks ago he wanted to go to a party, but apparently he never arrived. Since then no one has seen him. But we found a magic circle in the forest. It seems as if a strong exorcist has sealed him and taken him away.”

Natori listened intently and when Natsume finished, it was clear that these news had struck a nerve.

“If Nyanko isn’t around then what about you and the Fujiwaras? There will soon be yokai flooding your house and demanding you to hand over the book of friends! This a very dangerous situation you are in!”

Natsume held up his hands, trying to calm the other down.

“Don’t worry! It took a while before the yokai actually realized what was going on and that Nyanko-sensei was missing. The Fujiwaras are safe! And I am safe, too.”

Only then Natsume realized that what he would have to say next, was so outrageous, he couldn’t fathom how Natori would take it. Therefore he decided to avoid the topic.

“Well, I’m now staying...at a friend.”

At first it seemed that Natsume’s words had Natori relax again, however the last statement made him look up with a raised eyebrow.

“A friend? Which one?”
“I’m safe, that’s all that matters.” Natsume forced a smile, but Natori didn’t buy it.

“Taki lives on Okinawa and Tanuma studies in Korea, so which friend are you staying at?”

There was something almost threatening in his voice and Natsume bit the inside of his cheek, before he finally looked back at his friend.

“It’s Matoba. I’m staying at the Matoba estate.”

“You are kidding?!” Natori jumped from the couch with a stormy expression on his face. Feeling a bit intimidated, Natsume also got to his feet, so that he could have this conversation eye to eye.

“Matoba a friend! For real? I though you hate him? Wasn’t he your arch-enemy or something, seeing how he treats yokai like they are not even alive?” Natori held out his arms wide.

Natsume reacted to this by crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“We are not best friends, yes, but we are getting along.”

“Getting along? You are staying on his territory, where his rules alone apply! And does he know about the book of friends as well?”

“Of course not!” Natsume started to feel annoyed and some part already regretted coming here.

“Natsume! You can not trust him! He will do anything if it’s a good deal for him. And you are a really good deal! With the book of friends and your spiritual energy, he would probably pay any price to make you one of his clan members.”

Natsume got angry now.

“I’m just staying at his house. He isn’t even asking anything from me in return!”

Natori shook his head.

“He can be very polite and persuasive if he wants to. The longer you stay, the more you will question yourself why you ever disliked him in the first place and then he will grasp the chance and turn your mind around.”

Natsume shook his head, wondering where all this was suddenly coming from.

“I really don’t think that Matoba would act like this.”

Natori huffed.

“You have no idea how cruel he can be! He is a monster!”

“Take that back!” Natsume’s eyes went wide and he threw his own arms to the side. He couldn’t believe the words he just heard from Natori.

Natori took a deep breath with a hand massaging his temple. He then tried a different approach.

“It doesn’t have to be Matoba, you know? Now that I am back I can take care of you. Just move out and come to my place. I will protect you and help you find Madara.”

Natori held out a hand and his voice was as soft as cotton when he spoke. It helped to diminish the rage which had flared up inside Natsume’s chest, but he still felt very irritated about Natori’s strong reaction towards him staying at Matoba’s house.

“Thank you for the offer. I will keep it in mind, but for now I will stay with him.”

Natori’s hand fell down like a stone and clenched into a fist. A dark shadow danced over his expression for just a second. Then his features relaxed again and he made a few steps towards Natsume. Natori had been his friend for many years, therefore Natsume didn’t retreat backwards, when he approached, although Natori had already stepped way over Natsume’s comfort zone.

However Natori didn’t stop at all and soon his arms reached out and pulled Natsume into a very tight embrace.

Natori’s lips ghosted along his throat when he spoke up.

“Don’t go,” he almost whispered and Natsume was too shocked to even move. His arms remained in an awkward position next to his body, making sure not to make any contact with the man holding him tight.

“Natori, what’s going on? Please let me go.”

Natori however did not let go and pressed their bodies even closer together. Natsume was hit by the smell of Natori’s shampoo.

“Natsume, stay with me. I will protect you with everything I got, but please, please don’t go back to him.” There was an urgency within his voice, that Natsume had never heard coming from him before.

“Let me go!” Natsume ordered, this time with a little more force. He couldn’t understand what gotten into his friend.

When Natori didn’t move, Natusme saw no other way. He pushed Natori with all his force, finally struggling free of the embrace and making Natori fly backwards.

“I’m sorry, I have to go now.”

Natsume said and hastened towards the exit. He didn’t dare wait for the elevator and instead hurried down the stairs. He kept on running even after he had already left the building and raced towards the next train station.

The sensation of Natori’s body pressing against his own was still all too present and Natsume very much wished to forget about this incident as soon as possible.

What the hell had possessed Natori? Was he maybe just too exhausted from work, so he couldn’t act as he normally would? Natsume racked his brain. Natori had always warned him about Matoba but usually that was all he had to say about the other. Sure, Natusme knew himself how Matoba could be and how powerful he was, but ever since he had started to stay at his place, he had also learned about several other sides about him. He was a human struggling in life, just like himself. And they maybe even had more in common than Natsume had ever realized before.

Matoba wasn’t a bad person. Why did Natori freak out like this? And why had his embrace felt so intimate? It wasn’t like an embrace between friends...not at all. Natsume felt his cheeks getting hot, when he remembered how Natori’s lips had brushed over his throat and Natsume’s hand reached up and rubbed the spot. It was an eerie feeling. Suddenly an unbidden thought popped into his mind. What if it had been Matoba instead, who was pressing their bodies together?

Natsume’s heart skipped a beat and his face turned bright red.

He buried his face in his palms and quickly shoved the image far, far away.

Chapter Text

Back at the mansion Natsume was still very much shaken from the events back at Natori’s place. Therefore he simply poked at his food during dinner, until Matoba made him look up.

“You went to Natori? How did it go?”

Natsume’s stomach turned into a tight knot and he involuntarily grimaced.

“It didn’t go so well.”
“Huh? How comes? I thought you are the bestest of friends?”

“We are, however,” Natsume’s eyes went down and he stirred his soup with a complicated expression on his face.

“He doesn’t approve of me staying at your place.”

Matoba burst out laughing, only Natsume felt that there actually wasn’t anything funny about this situation.

His frown intensified and Matoba got a hold on himself again.

“Sorry, but this is just so Natori.”

“I don’t know. I never saw him like this.” Natsume admitted.

“He’s very stubborn at times. Actually it’s kinda brave, that you told him about me. He must think that I have put a spell on you.”
Natsume returned his spoon on the table.

“I wanted to hide it. Seeing that I never had much contact with you during the last years, this decision must seem to outsiders kind of extreme and maybe a bit crazy even. Therefore I didn’t mean to put much importance on it, but he figured it out himself.”

“You are a bad liar.” Matoba stated and Natsume let out a very long sigh.

“That’s kinda rude…but maybe also true.”

“So, he must have been very shocked. Did he ask you to move out?”

Natsume wondered how Matoba could predict the other’s reaction so well.
“Yes, he did.”

“And will you?”

Natsume looked up at Matoba in surprise.

“No!”

This was his honest answer and came out with more force than he had meant to. Sure he could move out, but after staying for this long already, he was actually convinced that Matoba had no ill intentions.

Matoba smiled.

“You know, Natori and I, we kind of have a history together. So don’t get mad at him, if he took it a bit too far. Personally I think he is right about me. You should better listen to him. I am a bad person.”

Natsume shook his head. Never would he have imagined that he would defend Matoba, but he felt that the other’s words were just too harsh.

“I don’t think so. You offered help without having to and I’m grateful for it.”

He bowed and when he came back up, Matoba started to smile brightly.

“You’re just too naive. I like that.”

He liked that? Unbidden Natsume’s face started to get warm and he turned his face down, so that his hair was falling into his face like a curtain.

“Well...I better go to bed now. Good night.” He quickly sprung to his feet and hurried out of the room as if a yokai was chasing after him.

Back inside his room he leaned against the door and let out a sigh. He really shouldn’t put too much weight into such words. After all it had been an insult in the first place.

Natsume went over to the desk, where his laptop was waiting for him. He opened it, checked his mails and send out a few replies. Some mails came from enthusiastic fans and other from publishers. After working for half an hour, there was suddenly a knock at his door.

Startled Natsume looked up from his screen and wondered who it could be. Usually after dinner, there wouldn’t be any of the staff around anymore.

“Yes?” Natsume called out hesitantly.

“It’s me.” He heard Matoba’s voice from the other side.

“Oh,” Quickly Natsume got up and slid the screen open.

Matoba had his arms crossed in front of his chest, with his hands hidden inside the wide sleeves of his haori. He had his signature smile plastered on his face and it made Natsume feel a little apprehensive.

“I was thinking about something. You really are terrible at defending yourself, therefore I was wondering if I should teach you a few basic protection spells, so you don’t have to rely on other people anymore and start to protect yourself and those you love.”

The last part stung and Natsume couldn’t help but frown. Everything about Matoba’s words was true and that was precisely why Natsume didn’t want to hear them.

“Even without knowing any spells, I got along quite all right up until now.”

“Because of your lazy bodyguard, yes.”

Natsume huffed.

“Think about it. Personally I think you can never know too much. You can learn them and maybe never need to use them, but if you need any spells and don’t know any, you are doomed.”

He was right, Natsume finally admitted to himself.

“All right, all right.”

“Good choice. Then follow me.”

“Ehhh, now?” Natsume was taken by surprise. He had meant to go to bed now.

“Better sooner than later,” Matoba grinned and turned around.

Natsume was torn, then he went over to is laptop and closed it, before he hurried after the other.

Soon they arrived at a room Natsume had not yet seen before. It was like a large library with books and scrolls lined along the walls, stored inside wooden shelves or glass cabinets. There was a strong smell of incense and paper in the air and several low desks were lined up in the middle of the room all of them equipped with paper, ink and a brush.

Natsume let his eyes wander and he was quite impressed. He was sure that Taki would love to visit this place and she would probably stay inside for several weeks, until she had absorbed every last bit of knowledge that was hidden inside.

“Are these all spells?” Natsume wondered aloud.

“Not all of them. There are also records of yokai throughout the history. Then diaries of the Matoba members and so on.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

“Of course, our history goes back several hundred years.”

“This long?” Natsume’s mouth was still open in surprise, when Matoba invited him to sit with him at one of the tables.

“I think it’s best if we start with the simplest protection spell. It’s simple but quite effective.”

Natsume sat down opposite Matoba and listened intently.

Matoba took the brush, dipped it into black ink and started to write in an unknown language while he spoke.

“This is a spell of the first rank. When used, it’s like a shield. Depending on the strength of your opponent it can take one blow or several. For example the small mushroom like yokai from last time in the forest that attacked you it would have been enough to go for 100 blows or more, however against stronger ones it might only hold one punch.”

Matoba finished the writing and turned the paper around to show it to Natsume.

“Will it hurt a yokai?” Natsume asked.

“No, it’s more like being a knight with a shield. When the attacker hits the shield with too much force, they might get thrown backwards...however the other way around is true as well. In case of a kami, this might only be a wooden shield, when it gets hit it splinters and you’ll be the one ending up getting thrown off your feet. It always depends. But for lower yokai it’s perfect.”

“I understand,” Natsume nodded and picked up the paper to inspect the writings more closely.

“It’s not too complex, for starters just try to copy it.”

Matoba slid a piece of paper over the desk and handed the brush to Natsume, who hesitated and looked back and forth between the paper and the spell.

“I don’t know this language, how should I start?”

“Doesn’t matter if you know it or not. Just copy it the way you see it.”

“Ok,” Natsume agreed, but he wasn’t convinced at all.

His first version turned out horribly crooked. He had miscalculated how much space it would need, so some parts were very large, while the later parts became smaller with every stroke. Natsume felt a bit ashamed for failing so badly, however Matoba didn’t seem to mind at all.

“That was a good approach. Now try to give every stroke more space.”

Natsume nodded and tried again. The second version already turned out a lot better and Natsume looked up expectantly at the other.

“Much better. Try again.”

Natsume wrote down four more versions, each time with a small improvement. At least that was what Natsume thought.

Matoba took a red pen and marked a few spots on the last attempt.

“See, here, here and here. Those strokes are still too long. This one should be a bit rounder and here, you need to lift the brush.”

Natsume compared his own writing with Matoba’s original, however he failed to see the difference.

“For me they look almost the same.”

Matoba chuckled and then he got up from his place, rounded the table and sat down right next to Natsume.

“Allow me,” he said and took Natsume’s hand holding the brush into his.

“There is a certain rhythm you should follow while writing.” Matoba guided Natsume’s hand over the paper.

For some reason Natsume had started to hold his breath and instead of watching how his hand moved, his attention had turned towards Matoba, studying the other’s serene face.

However all too soon, Matoba had finished the spell and his focus turned from the paper back to Natsume. Their eyes met and there was once again this unique smile on Matoba’s lips, that made Natsume’s heart skip a beat. Natsume felt his face flush pink and he quickly turned away and dipped the brush in new ink.

The light chuckle right next to his ear, made Natsume’s become even more flustered.

“One more time,” Matoba said softly and his hand once again helped Natsume to flow over the paper. This time Natsume had his gaze fixed on the motion and he began to understand what Matoba meant.

“I think I’m starting to see your point.”

“Good, then try again.” Matoba removed his hand, but for a very long time his touch still lingered on Natsume’s skin.

Therefore Natsume tried very hard to concentrate instead on the task before him. He drew the magical enchantment several more times, until Matoba seemed to be quite satisfied. He nodded, while Natsume continued.

“Very good. This last one you drew was a full success. It might not work against a stronger yokai, but you can already keep small yokai at bay. Now continue the repetition, until it becomes second nature to you. It’s important that you can draw a spell even with your eyes closed and without really thinking about it. It might save your life one day.”

Matoba gathered a few more pieces of paper and handed them to Natsume together with his original drawing.

“Here take this and keep on practising. In the future you should always have a bit a paper with you and a pen. So you can draw a new spell whenever it is necessary. However it might also be useful to come prepared, therefore you might want to draw a few talisman in advance and bring them with you.”
Natusme took the paper and nodded.

“Thank you for the lesson. I found it very helpful and I practice until it’s perfect.”
“Very good.”
“Then what will I learn next?”

Matoba laughed.

“Not so fast. Stick to this one for now. When you are more confident in drawing we can try protective spells to secure a small house. Then you can make sure that the Fujiwaras won’t get unwelcome guests.”
“Oh? Those would really be handy.”
“Of course, only they aren’t as simple as this one.”

Natsume instantly felt discouraged and his head hung low.

When Matoba’s hand landed on his shoulder, it made him look up again.

“Don’t worry. You have a strong spiritual foundation. Those things will come quite naturally to you.”

“Well, if you say so.” Natsume wanted to shake Matoba’s hand from his shoulder and at the same time his whole body was focused on the heat that came radiating from it.

“Then, I won’t steal more of your time for now. I go back to my room and practice a little more. See you tomorrow.”

“See yo and, good night."

Natsume kept on writing way into the night and in the end he fell asleep with his head buried deep into several stacks of paper all covered in black ink.

Chapter Text

Natsume’s neck was hurting like hell, when he got up the next morning. He tried to soothe the pain with a hot shower, but it didn’t help at all. He swore to himself never ever falling asleep again sitting at the table, when his futon had been just around the corner. Still even while getting dressed he continued to write the new learned spell with his hand into the air. By now he felt pretty confident, to be able to write it by heart.

When Natsume showed up to breakfast Matoba was already sitting at the table and swiping his finger over his smartphone. However the moment Natsume arrived he put the device away and smiled at him.

“Good morning! You look as if you’ve practised all through the night.”

Natsume wondered once again, if the other was spying on him, but then he wiped the thought away. His dark circles under his eyes were already giving him away, without the need to stalk him.

“Well, maybe I overdid it a little.” Natsume also sat down, picked up his chopsticks and began to stuff some plain rice into his mouth.

“But, I think I made lots of progress. So it was worth it.”
Matoba chuckled.

“If you say so. If you like to, we can continue the training this evening.”

Immediately Natsume’s face lit up.

“Yeah, that would be great,...I mean, if you can spare some time.”

Awkwardly he looked back down on the ground. Matoba was very busy, he shouldn’t be stealing all his time.

“No problem at all.”
Matoba smiled and he himself continued with his meal. Afterwards he again picked up his phone and unlocked the screen. His smile became even broader, until he started to laugh out loud.

Natsume wanted to ask for the reason, but he held back. This was something he could ask a friend, but maybe not Matoba.

However there was no need for Natsume to ask, since Matoba was freely going to share it.

“Sorry, this is so funny. Ever since you went over to Natori, he is flooding me with messages.”

“He...does?” Natsume tilted his head, not quite sure what this was about.

“If he could, he would come over and drag you out of this place.” Matoba was greatly amused.
“Oh,” Natsume didn’t think this was funny at all. He interlaced his fingers under the table, with his eyes downcast, while Matoba continued.

“Natori even threatens me with what he’s going to do, if I don’t hand you over. As if you’ve got kidnapped by me. He is so hilariously delusional.”
Natsume was petrified and it was showing on his face. He never meant to cause so much trouble.

“I...I’m sorry. I didn’t think Natori would react that way. I never meant to cause you any trouble.”

“You think I should hand you over, so I’m not troubled anymore?”

There was an interesting notion to Matoba’s voice, only it was completely lost on Natsume, who’s palms were sweaty and his throat dry as paper.

“I...maybe I should find another place to stay at.”

“You agree with him then? You feel like a hostage here and I should send you away?”

“No!” Natsume’s eyes darted upwards and met Matoba’s good eye.

“No,” Natsume shook his head and his hands were holding on tight to the rim of his shirt.

“Actually….” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. If there was one thing which scared Natsume the most, then it was being unwelcome at someone’s place. Throughout his life he had felt like a burden so very many times. Therefore if someone wanted him gone, he didn’t hesitate and agreed, seeing that he never wanted to cause any trouble.

But deep down in his heart, he never wanted to leave in the first place. He wanted a place he could call home, like everyone else. This wish was deeply engraved into his heart.

Therefore now that it sounded as if Matoba wanted him gone, it did unspeakable things to Natsume and he felt himself close to tears.

Going against his own nature, Natsume decided to for once follow his heart and suddenly bowed low.

“Please let me stay,” he pleaded with his voice already cracking.

He remained in this position with his hands on the floor and his face turned down for what felt like an eternity and he couldn’t see Matoba’s reaction. He could only hope, he wouldn’t get send away again.

Then out of the blue a hand was placed on the back of his head and Matoba ruffled his hair.

“Huh? Sure, it’s totally up to you. As long as you want to stay here, I’m glad to welcome you.”

Natsume could feel his head getting hot, but he still sat up straight again and faced Matoba. He knew he looked like a flustered mess, but at the same time he was so thankful, he just didn’t want to hide it.

“Thank you,” he sniffed and quickly wiped some tears from his cheeks.

Matoba studied him in silence.

“Sorry, for this. I…,” Natsume took a deep breath, “I’m just so used to getting thrown out. After my parents died I got handed down from family to family like an unwanted heirloom. I...kinda panicked just now. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Why would you think that?” Matoba challenged and Natsume had no reply for him.

“You know, an adult making a child feel like a burden, clearly never had their life under control. It’s cruel they made you feel this way and tossed you out, while hoping this would be the one missing improvement to their lives. But I’m sure it never was. They lived on as unhappy as before. But, do I look as if I don’t have my own life sorted out?”

“To me, you mostly look as if you have a plan in store for everything.”

Matoba laughed and the sound send shivers down Natsume’s spine.

“Thanks, I might not have a solution for every problem, but I very much know, that you staying at my place, certainly is no problem for me. So whatever Natori is threatening me with, this is rather something between us and it has nothing to do with you.”

Slowly Natsume nodded. He felt as if there was something missing, but the good news was making him so overjoyed, that his mind didn’t linger on it for a long time.

“Thank you,” Natsume bowed once more.

Before the situation became even more awkward, suddenly a black shadow yokai appeared inside the room. It flew towards Matoba and handed him a small piece of paper.

“Thanks,” Matoba took the paper and immediately the yokai vanished.

The exorcist unfolded the small paper and his eye darted over the content.

“Good news, according to my sources there are three exorcists who fit the description. Therefore it is very likely that we find Madara at one of them.”

Natsume instantly set up a bit straighter. Three were not too many to investigate. It should be easy to go through the list until they could find Nyanko’s whereabouts.

“Who are they and are they already visiting your monthly exorcist meeting?”

Matoba shook his head.

“I heard their names, but they have never joined my meetings. So I have never met them. Rumour has it, all three of them are very strong but also very extra. I don’t think they would hand over Madara, if we ask them to.”

Natsume’s mood fell and Matoba comforted him.

“Don’t worry. We just visit each one of them and see what we can do. Maybe we can trade him for one shiki from my collection.”

“Hm,” Natsume nodded. He didn’t like the idea of trading, but for now he also had no idea what other options they might have.

But maybe he was worrying too much. If he was lucky the exorcist might have a good heart and just wasn’t aware that Nyanko-sensei was actually more a cat than a yokai and Natsume’s best friend on top of it.

While Natsume was still lost in his thoughts, suddenly one of the servant girls knocked and bowed low, when she slid open the door.

“I’m sorry Mister Matoba, but there is a visitor at the door.”

Matoba raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? And who is it?”

“It’s Natori Shuuichi.”

“Ohhhh,” Natsume’s mouth fell open and a bit of panic rose up his chest.

Matoba turned towards Natsume.

“Should I handle him alone or do you want to stay?”

Actually Natsume felt that it was wrong for him to ask Matoba to handle Natori. That way it would make him look even more like a hostage with Stockholm-syndrom. He wanted to defend himself.

“No, I will stay.”

Matoba turned towards the girl once more.

“You can let him in and bring him here.”

The girl bowed and left.

Just a short while later Natori’s stormy face showed up and Natsume’s hands balled into fists under the table. He was sitting opposite Matoba and the moment his friend showed up, he felt as if Natori had found them doing something inappropriate.

Natsume swallowed hard.

Before he could say anything Natori already came running into the room, with an accusing finger pointing at Matoba.

“You!!! How dare you keep Natsume here with you!”

Matoba leaned back lazily and shrugged. He was completely unbothered.

“I don’t use any chains or bindings on him. Natsume is free to come and go as he pleases.”

“As if!! You are exploiting his situation only to push your own agenda!”

“If you think so,” Matoba turned towards the table and poured himself a new glass of tea, treating Natori like thin air.

Natori bit his lips then his face turned towards Natsume. His gaze was piercing right through him and the impact already made Natsume’s hands shake a little. It wasn’t like he was afraid of his friend. He just felt like this situation was doing something to their friendship that wasn’t in his control anymore and he just wanted things to sort out quickly. But apparently this time, it wouldn’t be too easy to find common ground again.

“Matoba can’t be trusted! You said so yourself and Nyanko said so, too! So why are you sitting here with him now eating breakfast?”

Natsume took a deep breath and steadied himself.

“He offered his help and I took it. If this is going to be a mistake, then it’s a lesson I’m going to learn. I appreciate your concern, but for now, I would like you to trust my decision.”

“Natsume...just come with me, won’t you? We’ve been friends for such a long time. I’m sorry if I scared you yesterday. I wasn’t in my right mind. So, please come with me?”

Natori’s voice was much softer now, much like as if he was now speaking to a little child.

Something tugged at Natsume’s heart and he indeed started to wonder, why he had refused Natori’s offer in the first place. Matoba was practically a stranger and Natori was one of his best friends. Logically he should stay with him. Matoba would surely understand if Natori was now taking over the responsibility.

Before Natsume could answer, Matoba’s cold voice rang through the room.

“Oh Shuuichi, you never change, do you? I trust you don’t have your own agenda with this? Let me think, where is Natsume supposed to sleep in your tiny, almost uninhabited flat? There is not much space on the couch, so why not share a bed with Natsume? Hm? Is this your plan?”

Natsume’s gaze went from Matoba back to Natori, who made a step backwards. There was a small blush on his cheeks and he seemed to struggle to find the right words.

“There is room even in the smallest cottage. We sure find a good arrangement that works for both of us.”
Natori raised his chin in defiance.

“Sure you will. Will be nice to have a real human by your side instead of a shiki.”

“Oh, it is. You are the best example. Enjoying your time with Natsume?”

Somehow this conversation was going into a direction where Natsume couldn’t follow anymore.

What the hell were they talking about?

“You know Seiji, you could have had this a long time ago. But apparently I wasn’t a good enough company for you.”

Matoba’s smile became reminiscent, but it didn’t last for long.

“Just like you say. I broke up with you, because you were just too boring.”

Natori’s hands balled into fists and his stormy expression was back, but this time it made his face almost turn ugly. Natsume had never seen his friend this enraged.

“Fine! Keep him then. Natsume will soon find out himself what a horrible person you are. I don’t have to do anything. You will do it all yourself.”

With this he turned around and stormed out of the room.

Natsume had a mind to run after him and was about to get up, however Matoba stopped him.

“Let him be. He needs to calm down first.”

Natsume slumped down again, with a heavy heart and even more open questions than before. He had never known that Matoba and Natori had been dating. Natori had never ever mentioned this before.

A knot started to form inside Natsume’s stomach, it twisted and turned and made Natsume feel a strange sting of jealousy. But why?

Was he jealous that Matoba actually knew Natori much better than he did or did it bother him even more, that Natori had been able to be this close with Matoba?

If Matoba only liked men as beautiful as Natori then Natsume would never stand a chance. The realization almost took all the air out of Natsume’s lungs. He grabbed the rim of his shirt even tighter. He wanted to leave the room, but he was petrified.

“Natsume?” A voice suddenly tore him from his thoughts and he looked up into Matoba’s worried face.

Only this was the least person Natsume wanted to see right now. Quickly he sprung to his feet and headed out of the room without another word.

Chapter Text

In the end Natsume only stopped when he arrived at the Japanese garden. He slowed down, took in the beautiful scenery and it instantly had the power to ground his thoughts back to the here and now. He sat down on one of the benches and buried his face in his hands.

He had overreacted and embarrassed himself. But if there was one good thing within all this mess, then it was the fact that apparently Matoba wasn’t opposed to liking men.

But was Natsume?

He vehemently shook his head. What was going on? There was no place for love in his life! Also his priority right now was finding Nyanko-sensei!

Natsume sat up straight again and closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply and counted, while holding in the air. Then very slowly he let out a breath and counted again. His pulse slowed down and the tremor in his hands reduced until there was none left.

Sometimes it was easier to escape a wild yokai, than escaping your own feelings. Natsume smiled inwardly and shook his head.

Getting older might have made him wiser, but his problems hadn’t reduced at all.

A sound that came from the other side of the garden made Natsume look up. Of course it was Matoba who walked towards him.

“Can I sit with you?” he asked with a polite smile. Natsume agreed and scooted to the side.

“Sorry what you witnessed just now. I know Natori since we were teenagers. At that time, we were both a bit rebellious so to say. We both tried our own ways of living with our ability to see yokai and I tried to figure out how to be the appointed head of the clan. We both thought how terribly unfair the world was treating us and that was our common ground. We against the world. It was a pretty unhealthy relationship, if I might say so.”

Matoba chuckled and Natsume listened intently.

“But he’s right with one thing. I did play with him and his feelings, in order to piss off my family and when it didn’t do the trick, I dropped him. In the end my defiance only brought me this.”
Matoba pointed at the scar behind his eye-patch.

“It was a good lesson and gave me the missing perspective.”

Now it was Matoba’s turn to take a deep breath.

“Just thought you should hear about my ugly side, but I guess you already know, that people and yokai are not always black and white only.”

Natsume was glad for Matoba being this open about his past. Although it hurt Natsume to hear about him and Natori, it also sparked a bit of hope. Hope towards something Natsume not yet dared to voice, not even towards his own heart.

“Thanks for telling me. This explains why Natori was reacting so strongly. I guess he still holds a grudge against you.”

“He does and he is right to do so.”

“I’m not sure…wouldn’t he be happier if he just let it be?”

Now Matoba’s smile turned into an honest one.

“You are a good friend. Natori is probably luckier than he knows.”

With this Matoba got up again and patted down his yukata.

“I have to work now. I see you in the evening then for another training session, if you still want to?”

“Of course!” Natsume burst out with a bit more enthusiasm than necessary.

“Good,” Matoba nodded and was almost out of earshot, when he turned around again.

“You know, there are people around me, very few, to whom I’m loyal to the end.”

Before Natsume could reply to this, Matoba was gone.

*

The rest of the day Natsume tried to distract himself by working on his new story, however his mind kept on wandering back to the news he had received today. It was nearly impossible to get down even one sentence. Soon Natsume gave up and instead he took a walk around the area. Just like before there weren’t many yokai around.

Natsume bought himself a drink at a konbini and then sat down on a bench overlooking a small river. He had to admit that this area was quite beautiful. Although it had not the rural charm of Hitoyoshi, which had all the forests and fields to offer, this place wasn’t too bad either, seeing that it was much more lively. Natsume saw children playing on a nearby playground, students returning from school and couples going out on a date. It fascinated him, how they all seemed to live such a peaceful life, without any yokais to worry about.

In the evening Natsume returned back to the mansion and was already looking forward to his next lesson together with Matoba. For now Natsume decided to keep his complicated feelings locked up, until the issue with Nyanko-sensei was resolved.

After dinner they went together to the library once again, where Matoba first asked Natsume to draw the spell he had taught him during the first lesson.

Natsume did as he was told and was confident to present a decent result. After he had finished writing Matoba took the paper and examined it.

“Very well, let’s try it.”

“What?” Natsume was shocked, but wasn’t able to stop Matoba, who only needed to whistle once to make a black shiki appear.

“Here, hold it up, like this.” Matoba returned the talisman back to Natsume and showed him how to hold the paper.

Natsume followed the lead, although quite unsure what he had signed up for.

“Attack.” Matoba commanded and Natsume quickly turned towards the shiki, which came flying right into his direction. Too shocked to react, Natsume just clung to the little paper in his hand. The moment the shiki almost hit Natsume the paper glowed up in a blue flame, as if on fire. The shiki flew backwards and the paper was gone.

With his eyes wide open Natsume stared unbelievingly at his hand.

“You did well, it worked just as intended.” Matoba praised and send the shiki away.

“Woah, that was...a bit of a shock. But good to know it’s working.”

“Now, can you write it with your eyes closed as well?”

“Ehhhh….I’m not sure.”

“Should we try?” Matoba’s grin held mischief within it and Natsume swallowed hard.

“I...can try?” He took a new piece of paper and dipped the brush into the ink and just when he was about to close his eyes and start writing, Matoba stopped him.

“Nah, not like this, you could be cheating. Let’s take this.”

From wherever Matoba presented a black silk scarf.

This was going a bit too far for Natsume. He did start to trust Matoba, but maybe not this much. Also this would terribly distract him from the task, seeing that his mind would go wandering about what Matoba was doing while he couldn’t see.

Ideally, he was doing nothing, but what if he just...leaned in and closed the distance between them?

Natsume’s heart was about to jump from his throat and he felt his cheeks getting hotter with every passing second.

“That won’t be necessary. I will practice this in my room some more.”
“No problem.” Matoba put the scarf on the table. He didn’t look the least bit put off, it was more the other way around, as if something amused him to no end.

Quickly Natsume wanted to find a distraction, not only for his own mind, but also for the other. Therefore he asked the first question which came to his mind.

“Matoba, do you know why some people can see yokai and others don’t?”

“Oh? That’s a very good question.”

Matoba took the scarf between both his hands and started to let it slide through his fingers back and forth. It was mesmerizing to watch.

“At the beginning both worlds were separated. The supernatural and the human world. At that time humans were still living in harmony with nature and the gods were watching them with interest. Soon the gods felt the need to interact with these interesting creatures. It was too bothersome to try to tell them to leave a place, where a kami was already residing only by creating natural catastrophes, which sometimes also backfired on them. They also didn’t really want to harm the humans. Therefore they thought about a way in which both sides could benefit of the exchange. The gods wanted to give either advice or warning. So one day a strong god decided to transform into a human and start interacting. They shared their knowledge about nature and about magic. And in return the god experienced for the first time human affection and love.

This kami then had an intimate relationship with several humans and thus created the first humans able to see and speak to yokai, seeing that they had the best of both worlds.

Those people soon were worshipped by humans and used as mediators between both realms. Every clan had one representative. For a short period of time, both worlds lived in harmony.

Until humans stopped minding nature and the advice given by their mediators. Instead of being worshipped those mediators were seen as bothersome lunatics and they got cast away. Yokai became a myth told by old people. The mediators had to hide their abilities from both worlds, seeing that the yokai became enraged, since humans were invading their territory without first consulting them. The contract was broken and the yokai and the humans were both going back minding their own business.

However those humans born from human and gods, they were still passing on their abilities, which then after some time created the first exorcists. They now used their abilities and knowledge against yokai. But as you know, not everyone becomes an exorcist. Some try to ignore their ability, some lose their sanity about it and some, simply try to make the best out of it.”

“I had no idea,” Natsume admitted.

The revelation that his ability was initially given to humanity by a god, was quite big. Nastume felt a bit sad how humans had dealt with this special gift, but at the same time he could easily understand why most of the yokai had so much hate inside them towards humans.

Natsume was still processing Matoba’s words, when he suddenly spoke up again.

“Well...I don’t think you know this, but your mother was also able to see yokai.”

“What?!” Natsume was speechless and his eyes flew wide open.

“Apparently your grandmother felt sorry for her having inherited this ability, therefore she had send her to the Matoba for protection. Your mother also knew how much her mother had suffered under this ability and how lonely she had been, therefore she easily agreed.

However, your mother didn’t stay for a long time. She met a man and fell in love. As far as I am aware, she never told him about her abilities and took it to her grave.”

Especially the last part made Natsume blink back a few stubborn tears that came unbidden to the corner of his eyes.

“I...I had no idea.” It stung that other people actually knew more about his own parents than he himself did.

Matoba seemed to pick this up and he stood up and checked one of the shelves until he returned with something that looked like diary.

He held it out to Natsume.

“Here, this is the diary of my grandmother. She wrote quite a bit about your mother in here and there are some pictures as well. You can have it and study it, if you want to.”

“Thanks,” Natsume’s throat was too dry to speak and his voice was broken when he replied. Still he carefully took the book from the other and pressed it close to his chest like the most valuable treasure on the whole planet.

Back inside his room Natsume sat down in front of the low desk and with shaking hands he skipped through the book. The handwriting was a bit difficult to read. It was easy to see that the writing had come from an old person. However it was still very beautiful to look at. Only Natsume wasn’t here to admire the kanji, he wanted to absorb everything regarding his mother. Soon his eyes stuck to a sentence.

“Today a girl with a strong spiritual foundation arrived at the mansion. She has lost her mother very young and we offered her protection. She has long blond hair and a pretty smile. She is a little shy, but very kind. Her name is Natsume Yuki.”

Chapter Text

A few more days later Natsume knew the content of the diary by heart. Although it had made him very sad to learn about his mother only through a diary, in the end he was glad that someone had actually written about her and preserved a bit of her character. Whenever Matoba’s grandmother wrote about Yuki being kind and how she tried to protect the shiki inside the house, it made Natsume smile. So even though he had never really met her, he apparently still had become somehow a bit like her. He was unbelievably happy about this. Also it was funny how similar his mother and Reiko looked. Probably his mom had also been chased a lot by yokai and asked to return their names.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered if back then Yuki had already owned the book of friends. At least it wasn’t mentioned in the diary.

*

Soon it was Friday evening and Matoba and Natsume were heading towards a nearby village, in order to try to locate one of the exorcists, who might have captured Nyanko-sensei.

As usual Natsume had mostly just stared out of the window while they drove through the countryside. Sometimes he spotted some yokai in the distance and other times Matoba pointed a few out to him.

After just two hours, they arrived at their destination. Once again Matoba had booked a room inside a ryokan and somehow it was also again a single room. Natsume chose not to comment on it. Seeing that he hadn’t complained the first time, it would make him look foolish, if he only started now. Also deep in his heart, he knew that he had no objections at all, which was also scary in itself and helped him to keep his mouth shut.

If this was a preference by Matoba, coincidence, or bad luck, Natsume couldn’t tell. They unpacked their few belongings and soon one of the employees came over and served them hot tea with some sweets.

They had agreed beforehand to arrive at the location one day in advance, so that they had a full day in order to search for the exorcist. Rumour had it, that they were living hidden deep inside the woods and that it was difficult for strangers to approach them. Some even said, that you had to pass a test, before they would invite you inside.

Whatever it was, Natsume was ready for everything.

While they sipped on their tea, Matoba suddenly broke the silence.

“So, you want to join me at the bath this time?”

Immediately Natsume’s face became a deep shade of pink and he leaned forward to hide most of it with his fringe.

“You can go ahead, I just stay here.”

Matoba chuckled, he saw right through Natsume.

“If you are too shy, we can take turns. You shouldn’t miss out on this just because of me. A hot bath might help you to relax and soothe your mind.”

It sounded a little as if Matoba was genuinely concerned about his well-being, therefore it was hard for Natsume to reject it once more.

“If you say so...then maybe you go first.”

“But don’t go wandering outside and fall into the mud again.” Matoba winked with his one eye and Natsume rolled his eyes.

“That was an accident. It could have happened to you as well. Also, I have my protective charms now, so you don’t have to worry.”

Matoba raised an eyebrow.

“I hope I already taught you that those charms won’t protect you against everything, especially not against bad luck. But I’m sure you should be fine as long as you don’t go too far, if you absolutely have to leave the room.”

Was Matoba actually inviting him to go and wander outside? Natsume shook his head.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere. Now have fun taking a bath.”

With an unreadable expression on his face Matoba left the room and Natsume took a deep breath.

On their way to the ryokan Natsume hadn’t seen any yokai lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to ask back their names, therefore he simply hoped, he wouldn’t run into any problems here. If a yokai came storming into the room, while Matoba was here as well and started talking about the book of friends, this would put Natsume into a very difficult situation.

He could only pray that nothing of that sort would happen. Such a situation might also end deadly for the yokai, if Natsume wouldn’t be able to stop Matoba.

For now Natsume simply sat at the table and checked his mails. Also he opened his chat with Natori. Natori had never send him any message, ever since he had returned back from abroad. Natsume felt as if he should be the first to write and to say sorry, but truth be told, he wasn’t sorry at all. A part of him was still a little peeved about Natori’s reaction. Therefore he put his device down on the table and switched on the TV, just to kill some time. Unexpectedly he ended up watching a show with Natori, where he was promoting his new movie. By instinct Natsume first reached out for the remote and was about to switch off the TV, but then his curiosity found the better of him and he found himself being quite immersed into the topic. Apparently Natori was playing a vampire in love with a young girl, but they were not allowed to be together, because the vampire didn’t want to hurt the girl. It was quite tragic.

Only when Natsume heard approaching footsteps from the corridor, did he quickly turn the show off again and sat up a little straighter.

The door slid open and Matoba stepped in with a towel around his neck and his black hair still a little damp.

“The bath is really nice. You would miss out quite a bit, if you don’t go.”

Natsume got up and stretched.

“Ok, ok, I take a look.”

“Have fun.” Matoba send him off and soon Natsume found himself submerged in steaming hot water. Matoba hadn’t lied. This place was absolutely stunning.

Natsume sat alone inside the bath surrounded by nature. The ryokan sat atop a hill and from the onsen Natsume had a look over the valley, where a small river was flowing through the trees. From up above the stars were twinkling. A chilly spring breeze blew past him which had a rather welcome cooling effect on his skin and didn’t feel cold at all.

Natsume’s muscles finally started to relax and for once all the pent up stress from the last weeks, was falling a little from his heart.

He crossed his arms on the stone edge of the pool and rested his head atop with his eyes closed. Just now he didn’t think about Nyanko, Natori or Matoba. He just existed, taking a deep breath in and out in a slow rhythm.

Sadly the moment couldn’t last longer. His skin started to wrinkled, therefore with a sigh he slowly stepped out of the water and reached for the towel.

After drying up, he put his yukata on and bought a small flask of milk at the vending machine. He sipped it through a straw, when he entered their room again.

Matoba was sitting on the ground at the table with a sake bottle and two cups in front of him.

“I was about to call the police, did you drown?” He mocked, but Natsume was unable to reply, since Matoba’s yukata was wide open at the front and was giving Natsume a good look at Matoba’s chest.

He swallowed hard and tried to glue his eyes to something else. He fixed them on the label of the sake.

“Haha very funny,” he mumbled and tried to hide the blush with his hair.

“Come sit down and join me. Now that you are old enough, let’s have a drink together.”

Natsume rolled his eyes. He didn’t like it, that Matoba kept on reminding him of the age difference. It wasn’t that big a difference to begin with and now that they were both adults, who even cared about this? Or did he still see him as a child?

There was a feeling inside his stomach, which Natsume couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t a nice one and with a huff, he let himself fall to the ground opposite Matoba, with his eyebrows drawn together.

“I don’t mind drinking. At home I often had a glass together with Shigueru.”

“Well then,” there was Matoba’s trademark smile again and he poured a glass for Natsume and himself. He held his own cup up and waited for Natsume to do the same.

“Kanpai!”

They drowned the small cup in one go and now it was Natsume’s turn to refill their glasses.

While the alcohol run down his throat, he had to admit that this must be an expensive brand. It tasted really good and therefore it was pretty easy to get drunk from it, without realizing it. But Natsume felt determined to show Matoba that he could well hold his liquor.

Only seeing that he had just taken a hot bath and his last meal had been hours ago, the alcohol reacted much faster with his body than he had planned.

When he couldn’t even remember how many glasses he had drunk, he knew it was already too late.

By now his eyes were once again glued to Matoba’s chest and he had shamelessly stared at it for quite some time. Finally he couldn’t take it anymore, and Natsume crawled over to Matoba’s side, where he reached out for both front sides of the yukata which were so invitingly standing apart.

He held the fabric tight in his hands, but stopped and looked straight into Matoba’s eyes. Both their heads weren’t much far apart now.

“You really are too beautiful for this world. Therefore you should absolutely close the yukata properly or people will stare.”

Clumsily Natsume pulled the parts together, while Matoba looked greatly amused.

“Also, you will catch a cold more easily,” Natsume added and gave up on fixing the garment.

Then he he turned away from Matoba, leaned forwards and parked his arms and head on the table.

“I really miss Nyanko-sensei.” Natsume sighed and felt a sting at the corner of his eyes.

“You know, after all these years, Nyanko wasn’t only my pet or my friend, it always felt more as if he acted like a father. He protected me, but gave me enough space to experience things with my own solutions. Still he guided me from behind, making sure I would pick up my way, even if I lost it every now and then. He helped me find courage and self-confidence.”

Natsume’s voice softened with every word, until he felt a warm hand on his back, stroking up and down.

Natsume closed his eyes.

“When I came here I had no one, but Nyanko-sensei turned my life upside-down. He was so clumsy but also very much caring. Of course he would never admit it, but I know. He deeply cares for the people around him. I miss him so much. I hope he is well.”

Suddenly Natsume had an idea and he sprung to his feet, shaking off the hand on his back.

“I have no time to lose, I should go and search for him. He must be scared and afraid and maybe he thinks I don’t care about him anymore!”

Before Matoba could react, Natsume had already reached the door towards the inner garden and was about to slide it open.

Without warning a pair of strong arms went around his hips and pulled him backwards.

“Hey!!”

Natsume protested and tried to wriggle free. However because of the alcohol he had already lost most of his usual strength.

“Let me go! I have to search for sensei!! He must be all alone!”

“Shhh, it’s alright. It’s going to be alright.” A voice right next to Natsume’s ear made him instantly stop struggling and he went limp as a fish, but Matoba held on tight. He then turned Natsume around, while still keeping him locked in the embrace.

“Don’t run away. We go and search for Nyanko-sensei tomorrow.”

Natsume pouted, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Matoba’s face. It was so close, if he leaned forwards just a little further...then Natsume shook his head.

“Is this a promise?”

“I promise it,” Matoba’s voice was soft as cotton and it made the terror inside Natsume’s heart evaporate.

Natsume closed his eyes and leaned forwards, but only to rest his head against Matoba’s chest. For a moment he inhaled the scent deeply. It was soothing his mind.

“You really are a kind person after all.”

Natsume could feel Matoba’s chuckle and then the other removed his arms from his back again, but not entirely. He guided Natsume towards the futons on the ground and made Natsume lie down.

He then covered him with a blanket, turned off the lights and went under his own blanket.

“Sweet dreams.” Was the last thing Natsume heard, before he immediately drifted into the land of sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning Natsume woke up with a terrible headache. Groaning he flipped the cover back and got into a sitting position, while he tried to keep his head from splitting with one hand against his forehead.

Was this a hangover? If so it was Natsume’s first time. The last thing he remembered was the sake on the table, but afterwards everything became a blurry mess.

Oh, oh...what if he had done something terribly stupid?

Quickly his eyes darted to the futon next to him, however it was already empty.

“Damn,” Natsume cursed and let his eyes roam through the room, but there was no one there. While fighting back the slight nausea, he got up and stumbled towards the bathroom.

Today was an important day, there was no time for him feeling down. Therefore Natsume decided to take an ice-cold shower. It didn’t help against his headache, but overall he felt refreshed and ready.

He got into a jeans, shirt and zip-hoodie and when he returned into the main-room he spotted the breakfast which must have already stood there, when he had woken up. Apparently Matoba had ate without him.

Natsume groaned. How passed out had he been? It was so embarrassing. Truth be told, his stomach wasn’t looking forward to any kind of food, but Natsume still insisted on eating a little rice and some already cold miso-soup. He wondered why Matoba hadn’t tried to wake him up. Or maybe he had, but hadn’t been very successful in doing so?

With his cheeks pink, Natsume buried his face inside his palms. Never in his life would he touch alcohol again. How was Nyanko-sensei able to survive several bottles during one night? This alone was proof enough, that Nyanko was a godly-being, even if he didn’t much look like it.

Not much longer and the door slid open and Matoba’s smiling face appeared.

“Risen from the dead?”
“Ugh...I’m sorry I overslept. I…did I do something silly when I was drunk?”

Matoba shook his head.

“Haha, not at all. You were mostly talking about Madara and how much you miss him.”

Natsume ruffled his own hair. He wished for a bottomless pit to appear and swallow him.

“Really? Uhm...sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for. By the way we are still within the schedule. If you are ready, we should head into the forest now.”

“Okay,” Natsume nodded and stood up. Automatically he patted over the side, where the book of friends was hidden.

“I’m ready!” He confirmed, while Matoba picked up his bow and quiver.

“Then let’s go.”

*

Matoba had received a description from one of his informants where the exorcist was supposed to live. However the place was deep within the woods and quite far if only going by foot. Since there was no other way to get there, they both fought their way through the underbrush.

After they had travelled half the distance they stopped for a short break. While Natsume took a big gulp from his water bottle, he suddenly saw a few small yokai approaching. He had a bad feeling about this and was terribly afraid that they were going to ask about the book of friends and his brain tried to come up with a way to distract Matoba. However very soon the yokai started to scream at the top of their lungs.

“Heeeeeelp!! Please someone!! We need heeeelp!! Please!!”

The sound almost made Natsume’s eardrums burst and his whole body flinched. Matoba also turned around to find the source of this annoying sound, but the moment he saw the size of the approaching yokai, he relaxed immediately and returned his own bottle into his backpack.

“Time to go,” he announced and slung the quiver over his shoulder.

Natsume however hesitated. The yokai in the distance looked really pitiful, therefore Natsume wanted to ask them, what was going on.

“Wait! Let’s hear them out first.”
Matoba looked incredulous.

“We don’t have time for this. You tell me all the time, how important it is to find Madara, but as soon as another yokai needs help, you just put him to the side? Are you kidding?”

Of course Natusme knew himself, that they had no time for this. But maybe the yokai had not a big problem and they could help without loosing too much time.

Natsume shook his head.

“I do want to find Nyanko-sensei, but I also want to help. So please wait.”

Matoba rolled his eye and crossed his arms in front of his chest, but he didn’t leave. Instead he leaned against a tree.

“Thanks,” Natusme gave him a small smile, before he turned his attention back on the approaching yokai.

It seemed the creatures had now also spotted Natsume and Matoba and they were hesitant to go any further. Therefore they called out again.

“We need some help!!! A friend got stuck, we can’t get them out!!”

Natsume looked over to Matoba once more and since the other didn’t seem to object any further, he went over to the yokai.

Two of them looked like tiny white rabbits and the third one was a very fuzzy caterpillar, with a face on his back.

By instinct they made a few steps backwards, when Natsume came over, but Natsume simply stopped and kneeled down with a smile. He held out a hand.

“Hey there, I don’t want to harm you. My name is Natsume. I would like to help you.”

The three yokai exchanged glances, but seeing that they had no other option, one of the rabbits came forward.

“We played in the woods as we usually would. We chased after each other in the warm spring breeze, but suddenly one of us was gone. When we stopped and searched, we found him up in a tree, where he was stuck.”
Once again all three exchanged glances, they looked quite pitiful.

“But...we are only rabbits, we can not climb and Pupa, here, can climb, but he does not have hands.”

The yokai pointed at the caterpillar, who’s expression turned teary.

“You are so tall, we are sure you can pick them up easily and rescue them. Please help us!”

“Please, please!”

Natsume got up again and let his eyes wander over the trees.

“Is it far from here?”
“No, no, not far at all, we will show you the way! Please follow us!”

Natsume turned around and looked towards Matoba, who only shrugged and pushed himself off of the tree.

Therefore they followed the yokai, who led them away from their initial path. Much to Natsume’s relief they did not have to walk far until they heard a desperate call from up in the trees.

“Help me, help me! I’m stuck up here!”

All of their eyes turned upwards. Indeed there was a crow-like yokai caught between two branches. The wings were so tangled, that it could neither move back nor forth.

Still, this wasn’t a small tree to begin with and Natsume wondered, if he was even able to climb that high up.

“I take care of this.” Matoba suddenly said and he took out his shortbow and an arrow. The small yokai panicked and called out.

“Noooo, don’t shoot him, don’t kill our friend!”

All of them were tearing at Matoba’s pants, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Natsume also wasn’t yet sure what Matoba was going to do. He just hoped he had something else in mind, instead of killing the poor yokai.

“Trust me,” Matoba winked and drew his bow. Before he let go, he added:

“Catch it.”

Then the arrow flew through the air and hit the branch where it was connected to the trunk. With a loud crack it tore from the tree and the branch fell down together with the yokai stuck in-between.

Quickly Natsume sprung forwards. Luckily this wasn’t a large branch, therefore he wouldn’t get crushed by the weight.

He easily caught it in time and then carefully pried the yokai free, until it happily started to flap its wings again and immediately flew back up in the air.

“I’m free, I’m free! Thank you soo much!!”

“Our fiend is free!! Thank you so much!!! We are forever in your debt.”

“No need, we are happy we could help.” Natsume reassured them, however Matoba intervened.

“You can help us too you know. We are searching for someone living deep within the woods, who is collecting yokai. Do you know where they live?”

Once again the yokai exchanged glances and this time the crow answered.

“Of course! We all know her. You only need to follow the way up the hill!”

It indicated with its beak the direction and it was completely not the direction Matoba and Natsume had intended to go.

Natsume raised his eyebrows and turned towards Matoba. Should they listen to the yokai or follow their initial plan?

“Thank you very much,” Matoba nodded once and put his bow away.

“Then let’s go,” he invited Natsume to follow, apparently he chose to trust a yokai for once.

They walked on in silence for a while until they arrived at a small clearing, where they could see a small hut in the distance, surrounded by lots of flowers and bushes.

It looked like a house taken straight out of a fairytale and Natsume needed to blink a few times to believe what he was seeing.

“Is this where the exorcist lives?”

“Let’s find out.”

However when they made another step towards the house, there was suddenly a row of yokai covered in black capes blocking their way.

They had almost appeared out of nowhere and Natsume was so shocked, he stumbled backwards.

Matoba however had one hand at his quiver and the other tight around his bow.

It was easy even for Natsume to feel that these were no ordinary yokai. They had a powerful aura around them. He doubted that fighting them would be a wise choice.

Therefore Natsume put a hand on Matoba’s shoulder and made him lower the bow again.

“You!” Suddenly one of the yokai spoke up with a low and strong voice, it raised a black hand with long claws and pointed at Natsume.

“Me?” Natsume pointed at himself with eyes wide open.

“The master wants to see you.”

Natsume exchanged a glance with Matoba, who didn’t look all too happy about the new events unfolding in front of them.

“Why me?”

“Master asked only for you. You can come or turn around.”

Matoba snorted and turned towards Natsume.

“I can fight them. It might be a little challenge, but not impossible.”

Natsume shook his head.

“No, somehow...I don’t think this is a trap or something. I can’t really explain.”

“Huh? And if you are wrong what then?”

Natsume gave the other a timid smile.

“If I don’t come back after one hour you can still fight them and come and get me back.”

“Sounds like plan,” Matoba agreed without asking any further questions. He stored his bow on his back again.

“Ok, then….see you in an hour, or so.” Natsume tried to sound confident, however he couldn’t hide his apprehension.

“Good luck,” Matoba smiled and although Natsume was already turning towards the yokai, he stopped his movement, hesitating.

“I…can I ask you to take care of something for me, while I’m gone?”

Matoba raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, what is it?”

Natsume sighed and then he removed the hidden bag from under his shirt which kept the book of friends inside and held it out to Matoba.

“Please protect this with your life if necessary. I would appreciate it, if you don’t look inside the bag. I know I can not stop you, but...that’s what I ask of you...as a friend.”

Matoba took the bag and put it around his own waist, then he nodded.

“I will protect it.”

“Thank you,” Natsume’s voice was almost inaudible and he felt a million things when he turned around towards the black yokai.

Was this a mistake? But he trusted Matoba by far more than this unknown exorcist he was going to meet, therefore his priority should be to keep the book of friends safe, even if it meant to trust Matoba.

The hooded yokai started to surround Natsume and effectively blocked him from Matoba’s view. They then walked towards the pretty house until they arrived at the doorstep.

All of the yokai suddenly stopped, so Natsume did the same. Although the door in front of him was still closed another yokai stepped out of the house. It looked like a beautiful woman with long blond hair, wearing a traditional white kimono. Only this yokai was wearing a mask with three eyes painted on top. The mouth was an expressionless thin line.

“Why are you here?” The yokai asked.

“My friend is missing. He is a yokai called Madara. I would like to ask your master if they have sealed him by accident or if they know anything about his disappearance.”

The third eye on the mask glowed and Natsume felt like the eye was staring right into his very soul. A shiver ran over his back and he wondered if he should have answered something else.

However the yokai vanished into thin air again and the door swung open.

“You may pass,” whispered the yokai into Natsume’s ear and when he stepped over the threshold he held his breath and willed himself to face the exorcist inside.

“Hello there, hello! Don’t look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

There was a portly woman standing at a stove with silver hair, bound into a ponytail. She had a kind smile on her face, that shone even brighter through the wrinkles age had carved into her skin.

She had bright blue eyes and wore colourful patchwork clothes.

Natsume was quite taken aback. He had expected something very different.

“Please take a seat! I don’t get visitors very often, you know.”

She indicated towards a table in the middle of the room. Then she quickly brought over a tea set and filled a teapot with fresh hot water.

Since this woman didn’t look dangerous at all, Natsume accepted the invitation and took a seat.

“My name is Natsume Takashi and I am searching for my friend Nyanko-sensei, also known as Madara. Most of the times he looks like a very round lucky cat.”

The woman nodded and handed Natsume a cup of tea, which smelled like strawberries.

“I know about this. They told me everything.”

“Do you perhaps know anything about his whereabouts?” Natsume was full of hope.

“One thing after the other, my dear boy. First my name is Takahara Yui and actually I am not an exorcist. I don’t like those at all.”

“Oh...you are not?”

Takahara shook her head and sat down opposite Natsume where she also filled her own cup.

“No, I don’t like it how they treat yokai. You see I have many, many shiki, but I never forced them to follow me. I simply asked them. Many said yes, because you know, many yokai are lonely too. So I gave them a home and they gave me a family.”

Now Natsume looked around inside the house for the first time and only now did he realize how many yokai were actually just looking at him. From everywhere the yokai large and small were eyeing him.

“Haha, don’t mind them. They won’t hurt a fly, they are just curious.”

“Ok, there are so many?”

Takahara giggled like a young girl.

“I know, I don’t know when to stop. You know at one point the information just spread and yokai from far and wide came knocking at my door, asking for shelter. How could I send them back?”

Natsume also had no answer to this. Seeing that he was only returning names instead of housing all the yokai, his role seemed less troublesome.

“But enough about me. What about you Natsume? You seem to like yokai a lot, not like the exorcist waiting outside.” Takahara indicated with her chin towards the door.

“My grandmother was Natsume Reiko. Maybe you’ve heard of her?”

The woman shook her head, but she looked towards the yokai in the room and some nodded with enthusiasm.

One yokai stepped forwards and provided some input.

“Natsume Reiko was a fearsome human. She duelled yokai and stole their names.”

Another yokai interrupted.

“That’s not what I heard! She was very strong, but also very kind!”

Several more yokai chimed in and soon it was impossible to make out any single opinion aynmore.

“Stop it! Please don’t fight over this!” Takahara intervened and everyone fell silent again.

“Sorry, since we don’t have visitors very often who can see them, they don’t know how to behave.”

“No problem,” Natsume was actually glad that none of the yokai had mentioned the book of friends.

“So your grandmother was a bit famous and what about you?”

“Well, yokai often mistake me for her. At first I was terribly afraid, but soon I learned about all the things my Grandma and the yokai experienced together and this gave me a new perspective. I know that every yokai is unique and certainly not all of them are evil.”

Takahara nodded approvingly.

“Yes, that’s why I only invited you. You helped the yokai in the woods. I’m sorry, but this was actually staged as a test and you passed. I had to make sure that you meant no harm to my shiki.”

“I understand and that’s totally fine.”

“You are a good one, now what about the one outside?”
“His name is Matoba Seiji. He is the head of the Matoba clan. I know his reputation among yokai is rather bad, but he promised to help me find my friend.”

The woman took a deep sigh.

“If you trust him, then I won’t say anything. Now, back to your initial problem. Your friend is missing, since when and where did you see him last?”

Natsume quickly summarized what he knew and Takahara listened and nodded every now and then until she put her hand at her chin and went silent for a while.

“I’m very sorry my dear boy, but I have never heard anything about this.”

Natsume’s heart instantly fell and it must have shown as clear as day on his face, since Takahara immediately tried to cheer him up again.

“But that means nothing really my dear! I have a lot of very capable shiki and I will send them out to investigate! I promise you, I will help you find your friend! You can count on me, too!”

“Thank you very much,” Natsume was happy about the offer, but the disappointment was too big, to make him smile again any time soon.

“I really appreciate this.”

Takahara reached out and put a hand on Natsume’s shoulder.

“I understand how you must feel right now. It’s ok to be sad, so you don’t have to pretend otherwise.”

Natsume managed a small smile, then he took a sip from his tea and hid behind the cup.

“Now, you can stay for as long as you like and return whenever you feel like it.”

“Thanks, but I think I should go back to my friend now. Otherwise I fear he might do something rather extreme if he thinks I won’t come back.”

Takahara laughed again.

“That’s quite a friend you have there!”

“Yeah, he is.”

Both of them then said goodbye and all the shiki waved when Natsume left the house and went back over the clearing towards Matoba.

“One more minute and I would have set the house on fire,” Matoba joked, however when he saw Natsume’s expression he instantly took it back.

“No success?”

Natsume shook his head.

“Sadly not, she hasn’t heard anything about Nyanko-sensei.”

“That’s too bad.” Matoba sighed, then he held out Natsume’s bag.

“Here, your bag.”

Although Natsume had no way to know if Matoba had peeked inside or not, in his heart he was sure that Matoba had not done anything.

He carefully took the hidden book of friends and returned it to its place under his shirt.

“Thank you. Then let’s go back.”

Chapter Text

Natsume slept particularly bad the following days. Although Matoba had already found out, who their next target was going to be, it wasn’t until the next weekend that they would go and visit this exorcist.

According to Matoba the exorcist was living in Tokyo. He was supposed to be extremely rich, but not very strong when it came to spiritual energy. However since he used his money to buy the things he wanted, he had collected a vast amount of very strong shiki. Therefore it wasn’t a good idea to underestimate him.

Natsume had never before heard of such people. He wondered why anyone was willing to buy a yokai and force them into submission. This felt a lot like human trafficking to him.

Although Natsume wanted to find Nyanko-sensei as soon as possible, he very much hoped that he would not find Nyanko there. He doubted that Matoba would agree to buy Nyanko-sensei out for him. Or worse if Matoba would borrow the money to him, then Natsume would be indebted to him for the rest of his life. He could well imagine his future working his ass off in the name of the Matobas.

“Ugh,” he massaged his temples, while he tried to write a new chapter for his book. Only he was very unsuccessful. In the end he closed the laptop and instead decided to get some fresh air and go to the Japanese Garden.

It was almost sunset when Natsume sat down on one of the stone benches. He let his head fall backwards and watched the clouds slowly drifting by. They were already tinted in a soft orange. The garden was a peaceful place during day. It was hard to believe that at night the sky was crawling with evil yokai plotting Matoba’s death. Seeing that Natsume was also now living here, were they also now planning to kill him?

Before he could follow this trail of thoughts any further Natsume suddenly felt a presence next to him.

“Ah, here you are, I was searching for you.”

It was Matoba and the sight of him, made Natsume feel several emotions at once. Hearing that Matoba had been searching for him, made his lips turn upwards into a soft smile.

“What do you need?”

Matoba sat down on the bench next to Natsume.

“I have some bad news for you.”

“Oh,” Natsume’s heart skipped a beat.

“We can not go to Tokyo this weekend.”

“Why?”

“You remember the yokai which is after my eye? It’s time for his next attempt. Since we can not narrow it down to the exact day and time, it’s best to stay on the safe side and not travel to places, where other people could get involved.”

“Oh...I understand.” Natsume let his eyes drop down on his folded hands on his lap.

“I’m really sorry. For now we should not leave the house together. Staying close to me is too dangerous.”

With this Natsume’s head went upwards again and he turned towards the other.

“But maybe I can help?”
“Help? I don’t think so. I already have Nanase and the others, who will try to divert the yokai’s attention. If you are there, I’m sure it might even try to attack you, seeing that we have almost the same level of spiritual energy. That’s just too dangerous.”
Natsume shook his head.

“I don’t mind if it’s dangerous, if I can be of any help. You already did so much for me. I just want to be useful.”

“I appreciate it a lot, but I don’t want your help.”

Matoba’s words were final and he instantly got up and was about to walk away. Natsume also sprung to his feet, but he had no idea what he wanted to say, so he said nothing and let Matoba go.

The rejection made his hands tremble. He knew, that he would probably act the same, if their roles were reversed, but still, he was too stubborn to simply stay put.

There must be a way to communicate with this yokai and maybe make him stop. This was already going on for way too long. It didn’t seem fair to punish every head of the clan for a mistake someone had done many, many years ago.

Still he really wasn’t sure what he could actually do. If Matoba was set on avoiding Natsume, then Natsume wouldn’t be able to see him. This was a given, since Natsume was living under Matoba’s roof, with the shiki and the staff only working for their Master and not for Natsume.

How much Natsume wished to consult Nyanko-sensei first, before he would do something really stupid. But he was on his own now, he had to figure things out himself.

He thought about going to the library. Maybe he could find something related to the initial incident. Then again, he already knew the outline. One of the Matobas made a deal with the yokai, but when it was time to give his right eye as a payment, he went back on his word, sending the yokai in a rage.

Like this the yokai was probably right to be angry, but somehow Natsume felt that there might be more to the story. Therefore he did check the library, but he only returned to his own room empty handed later at night. There were so many journals of so very many people. It would take him several years to work through each and every page.

His dinner was already waiting on his desk, when he entered his room and it made Natsume’s stomach twist. He had hoped that he could at least see Matoba inside the mansion. According to Matoba the yokai couldn’t enter here, but it seemed, he was set on not seeing Natsume at all.

His hunger evaporated, but Natsume still tried to shove in a little bit. It wouldn’t be polite to let the food go to waste.

The next day Natsume tried to hide near Matoba’s room in order to follow him as soon as he would leave it for the day. However although he waited for several hours, nothing happened. The next day even though Natsume started to keep an eye on Matoba’s door much earlier, there was no-one entering or leaving. In the end Natsume figured, that Matoba must have several different ways to exit his room.

Natsume wrecked his brain, but ended up with no brilliant idea. On Sunday he left the mansion very much frustrated. He was annoyed about the way Matoba was shutting him out and he was also angry at himself for how useless he was.

He wandered through the area without any real destination. On his way he passed along merchants, schools and then ended up near a riverbank, where he sat down on a bench and simply watched the water flowing past him.

In the distance he then saw a stone bridge, where several people carrying black and white paper umbrellas where walking in a long procession. It looked somewhat like a funeral. Then it hit Natsume. It was Matoba! Finally luck was with him!

Natsume sprung to his feet and headed towards the group with lightning speed. In order not to get spotted too easily, he run down the dyke and then along the riverbank. Like this he could easily hide behind bushes and try to silently observe the scene for now.

Maybe his plan would have played out perfectly, if not for the dark shadow that came flying his way like a comet falling from the sky.

Its dark aura gave Natsume a first warning and when he saw the black mass coming his way, he couldn’t help but scream out in shock.

Quickly he turned around and started running. He had no time to check if Matoba had heard him or not, he only fumbled for one of the protection talisman stored inside a pocket of his pants. He prayed to all the gods, that it would at least shield him from the first blow. From then on, he would have to figure out something new. Without a warning, Natsume stopped, turned around and slammed the paper right at the shadow which in the same moment crashed straight into him.

They both collided and Natsume felt himself pushed backwards. There was a something tugging at him and he heard screams in the distance. It sounded as if someone was calling him.

Then suddenly there came a blinding light and Natsume felt how something took hold of his consciousness.

*

*

*

“Leave me aloooooone.”

“Tsk, you are such an annoying yokai. Really a pain in the ass!”

“Go awaaaaay.”

A dark shadow tried to crawl into a tiny hole in the ground, while a tall, fierce looking woman was poking it with a stick.

It was Reiko!

So Natsume was in a memory! Probably the one from the black shadow. Natsume watched the scene unfold in anticipation. He never thought that Reiko had also once met this dangerous yokai. Only right now, it didn’t look menacing at all, but instead very pitiful.

“So you are only strong once a month and you go and waste it on these Matoba brat to get his eye? And you haven’t been successful ever? Really….don’t you have anything better to do?”

The black shadow looked as if it tried to melt into the ground.

“Not your business, leave me.”

Reiko removed the stick and tossed it to the side, then she shrugged.

“I know it’s not my business. But you should start to think what you really want in your life. Let go of old grudges and start all over. Like this...you will never go back to your old form.”

Now the look on Reiko’s face softened and she hunched down, patting the shadow on its head.

“You’ve been so lovely once. Why cling to being like this?”

“Humans don’t understand. Leave me alone!”

The black shadow ducked and shrugged Reiko’s hand off.

Reiko sighed and stood up again.

“Your life, your choice. Goodbye.”

Then she turned and never looked back.

While Natsume was still processing what he saw, the surrounding changed.

*

*

*

The scene turned into a beautiful forest on a hill. Out of it stepped a large stag-like creature. It was the forest god, protecting the nature and all animals. It was a proud creature with a kind heart. It loved all living things, even the humans at the village below the hill.

Therefore when one day a villager came up the hill and prayed for the forest god to help the village defend an evil spirit, the god stepped forwards.

“We will help you, if you give us something in return.”
“Anything! I will give you anything!” The man panted. His despair almost palpable.

“Then we ask you to give us your right eye.”

The man’s heavy breathing stopped a second and his eyes went wide. He considered it for a second and then he nodded, his body now more composed than before.

“We promise you to give our eye, as soon as the evil spirit was defeated.”

The stag lowered his head.

“Then show us, where the spirit is.”

The man and the stag travelled down the hill together.

Once again the scene changed as if someone had pushed the fast forward button.

Now it was night and the stag was standing in the moonlight looking into an unknown far distance.

A smaller yokai approached hesitantly.

“Did you find him?” The stag asked.

The yokai flinched and shook his head.

“My lord, all the Matobas have left the city.”

“I understand.” The stag’s head went down and it looked at the green grass on the ground.

“We never meant to take the eye. We wanted to test the man’s sincerity, we only…,” but the stag wasn’t able to finish the sentence, when suddenly something came flying out of the trees.

An arrow with an attached talisman hit the small yokai, engulfed it into blue flames and instantly burned it to ashes.

Shocked, the god turned around, meaning to charge at the intruder. However when it saw the same man, who had promised to give anything in return for the god’s help, the same man was now aiming another arrow straight at the god, it couldn’t believe what it was seeing.

The young head of the Matoba clan had a wicked smile on his lips.

“Thanks for your help, but I rather keep my eye. Also gods, ghosts and yokai can’t be trusted. One day you are going to turn on us. We won’t let you.”

He let go of the bowstring and the arrow went straight into the stag’s front.

Feeling sorrow for the unjust death of his yokai-friend and the sting of betrayal taking his heart, the stag wasn’t able to move.

Another arrow was shot and it planted itself deep into the stag’s skin.

“You betrayed us.” The stag almost choked out, while a blood like fluid came seeping out of its wounds.

Then blackness consumed the god and turned it into an evil spirit itself. It was swearing that one day it would get its revenge and receive the due payment. He wouldn’t rest until then. However his injuries needed to recover, so he slept...

*

*

*

When Natsume opened his eyes, he was still surrounded by a bright light, that was either only his imagination or created by the yokai. It was somehow shielded him from the outside world. In front of him was the black shadow staring up at him, unmoving.

“I’m sorry,” Natsume started. His heart ached for the yokai, who had once been a proud god. Also he felt terribly guilty that it had been a human, who caused it to turn into an evil spirit.

Natsume shook his head.

“I’m really sorry, for what happened to you. I understand where all your anger is coming from, but...aren’t you tired of being angry all the time?”
The shadow on the ground didn’t reply.

“It’s true that a human betrayed you. He was wrong. But all this happened a long, long time ago. Humans changed. Some to the better, some to the worse. But you stayed the same over all these years, full of hate and regret. What happened to your forest, what happened to the animals living there? You’ve let them all down, because one human went back on his word. I’m sure you already knew he would do so, but you helped him anyways. Which was really kind of you. So why keep on insisting? Don’t you think it’s time to let go? Wouldn’t it be better to forgive, instead of insisting on the repayment?”

Still the shadow didn’t react, so Natsume went down on his knees and held out both hands to it.

“Let’s start all over. It’s not too late. Get rid of all the hate within your heart and let kindness back inside.”

Natsume gave the yokai an encouraging smile and then suddenly the bright light turned even brighter. He had to shield his eyes, but when he felt the light go down again, there was a beautiful stag standing in front of him. Also the light around them had vanished and out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Matoba and the others staring at him with worry and wonder all over their faces.

The stag smiled at Natsume and then it turned and went over to Matoba, who had come down from the bridge and headed over to Natsume. The head of the clan was now too stunned to move.

The stag bowed.

“I forgive you and all before and after you.”

Matoba was trembling all over, but he went down on his knees with his head lowered.

“I am sorry for the deeds of my family. Please accept my apology.”

The stag chuckled and then it kissed Matoba’s forehead, which made his protective eyepatch fall to the ground.

With a shocked expression Matoba’s hands went straight to his injured eye and then his look turned into unbelieving. His head snapped upwards to the forest god.

From where Natsume was standing, he could see Matoba’s face very clearly. With surprise Natsume saw that the scar was gone and Matoba’s face had been fully healed.

“I will leave you now. Thank you, Grandson of Reiko. If you ever need help, do not hesitate to ask.”

Natsume smiled.

“I’m happy for you. I hope life will treat you better from now on. Take care.”

The stag nodded and then it jumped into the air and galloped away over the clouds.

Certainly when Natsume had interfered he had never imagined a happy ending like this. He had been able to help Matoba get rid of the curse and he had also managed to save the forest god. Natsume felt really pleased with the turn of the events, until he saw Matoba running over to him with a stormy expression on his face.

Before he could dodge, a hand slapped hard over Natsume’s left cheek, it made his face fly to the side.

Matoba was so overtaken by rage, he was trembling all over and couldn’t say anything. Therefore he simply stormed back up the dyke and away. Nanase and the others exchanged glances, but then also followed behind their leader, leaving Natsume alone at the scene still holding his burning red cheek.

Chapter Text

Of course Natsume understood why Matoba was angry. He had strictly forbidden Natsume to interfere and he had done it anyways.

It was only luck that no-one was hurt. Natsume knew this all very well, but it pained him, that even after several days Matoba was still avoiding him.

If only Natsume could speak with him and explain everything and also tell him about the things the yokai had shown him. He was sure Matoba would love to know.

Only Matoba didn’t show up.

With every passing hour Natsume’s heart turned more heavy, until the walls of his room became too narrow and he couldn’t breathe anymore.

Although he was aware that it might be a futile attempt, he slowly walked over to Matoba’s room. It took him all his courage to finally knock at the door. The sound of his knuckles against wood resounded through the empty hall.

For a long time nothing happened. Natsume’s hand fell back to his side. He was still staring at the plain paper of the shoji when suddenly the door slid open. Matoba was looking right at Natsume, who was too stunned to even open his mouth. With wide eyes he simply gawked at the other.

“What do you want?” For the second time Natsume saw Matoba now without the eyepatch and without the scar. Both his eyes were glaring at Natsume. Matoba looked ten times more intimidating like this. Natsume swallowed hard and then cleared his throat.

“I want to apologize. I know I overstepped and I’m sorry.”

Natsume bowed, but when he stood back up straight, Matoba’s expression had not changed. If anything he looked even more pissed now.

“It’s good that you realize your mistake. Then it shouldn’t come as a surprise if I tell you to leave.”

“What?”

“I asked you not to interfere and you didn’t listen. Therefore I can not trust you anymore. So please leave this place as soon as possible.”

“But...I knew the risk and I was ready to take it. Don’t you understand? I wanted to protect you because...because...”

Natsume’s voice became almost inaudible and his cheeks turned into a bright shade of pink.

Matoba’s gaze became intense and Natsume took a deep breath. With his hands pressed into fists, he forced himself to look straight at the other.

“I wanted to protect you, because I like you.”

If Matoba was shocked about this revelation he didn’t let it show on his face, rather he put a hand to his temple, closed his eyes and sighed.

Next he shook his head.

“Natsume, let’s be honest. There is absolutely no hope for these kind of feelings in this house. So you better leave as soon as you can. Nanase will help you to put up protection spells at the Fujiwara’s house if you want to. Goodbye.”

Without another word, Matoba closed the door again and left Natsume standing in front of it. For a very long time Natsume didn’t move. His heart clung to the hope, that maybe Matoba would change his mind and maybe he would open the door again and they would be able to talk things through. But the door never opened and Natsume finally gave up and turned around in slow motion, moving strained as if some force wanted him to remain glued to the spot.

Back in his room he was completely at a loss. He leaned against the wall and slid down. Of course he had known from the beginning that Matoba would never ever fall in love with him. But he had dared to hope. Now all this optimism was crushed to pieces and Natsume felt numb inside. Once again he got rejected, once again he got tossed out. His entire past flashed through his mind and Natsume’s throat formed a thick lump, that he couldn’t swallow anymore.

It felt like suffocating. His throat was tight and dry and his eyes started to sting. He tried to blink the tears away, but they stubbornly returned.

It was hard to accept that he wasn’t wanted here anymore. He was not important. He might have been a friend, a distant acquaintance, but nothing more.

Natsume was totally redundant. It didn’t make any difference if he was here or not. Matoba had simply offered the place to be polite. There was nothing about Natsume that separated him from anyone else.

When the first stream of tears came running down his cheek, he immediately tried to wipe them away with the hem of his shirt. He wondered when he had lost the ability to hide his tears, like he usually would. Still moping his face, he got up again and with a blurry vision he tried to pack the little belongings he had brought with him into a travel bag.

Afterwards he washed his face in the bathroom and took a very long look at the room he was about to leave forever.

He wasn’t sure what to do with the diary of Matoba’s grandmother. He probably should leave it behind, but he just couldn’t. Therefore he stored it next to the book of friends. If Matoba came asking, he could still say he had lost it...or so.

Of course he would return it! Natsume only hoped that like this Matoba would still have a reason to speak to him, if he ever wanted the journal back.

It was a childish hope, but for now Natsume just couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t yet let go.

At the entry hall of the mansion Nanase was already waiting for Natsume. The look on her face was hard to read. If he wasn’t mistaken, she looked a bit unhappy.

“So Natsume, where can I take you?”

“Back to Hitoyoshi please.”

“As you wish.”

They went outside to one of the Matoba’s black cars and Nanase drove Natsume all the way back to his home town. Seeing that Natsume wasn’t in the mood for small-talk, Nanase didn’t press him. Only when they arrived at the Fujiwaras, Natsume opened his mouth.

“It would be very nice, if you could secure the house with some protective spells, so that no yokai can enter and trouble the Fujiwaras.”

“Of course, that’s why I’m here.”

“I will go inside and distract them. If you need anything, just ring the bell.”

Nanase nodded and they both went their ways.

Naturally the old Fujiwara-couple was overjoyed to see Natsume again. They wanted to know everything about his trip into the big city and how his time with Matob went. Touko immediately started to cook something especially nice, while Shigueru sat together with Natsume at the table and listened to all the stories Natsume told. Natsume soon realized, that he hadn’t actually experienced anything super exiting, apart from those things which concerned the yokai and the search for Madara. Therefore he made up a few more events, like going to the cinema and dancing in a club until late at night, to sound more like a normal young man.

This seemed to make the couple quite happy and Touko had a soft smile on her lips.

After lunch, Natsume excused himself and went back outside to check on Nanase. However she seemed to have finished the spells for the house and was long gone. The black car was also nowhere to be found around the house anymore.

Outside on the stone wall Natsume could make out several markings and he approved of Nanase’s work, while at the same time he wondered, why Matoba had taken him in, if this had been an option from the beginning.

Before his heart could break all over again, Natsume decided to go and visit his friends. He hadn’t seen any of them for a very long time and he already missed them terribly.

When he arrived at the large clearing in the forest, the whole Dog’s Circle was already assembled and drinking sake.

Chukyuu A and B were the first to spot him.

“It’s Natsume!!! Natsume has returned!!”

“Returned, returned!”

“Ohh my god, my dear little Natsume!!”

Hinoe sprung to her feet and in no time she had her arms around Natsume’s neck. He allowed it, since today a hug was exactly what he needed.

“Hello everyone!”

He held up his hand and with Hinoe around his throat he slowly made it over to where everyone was sitting.

The yokai made room for him and he took a seat in the soft grass.

“Natsume, you have to tell us everything! How did it go! Did you find Madara?”

So Natsume told them everything what had happened. This time he told the real story and not the adapted one. He even disclosed the incident with the yokai, which had been after Matoba’s eye and how he ultimately because of this got kicked out of the mansion again.

Everyone went quiet and even Hinoe at one point let go of Natsume and patted him comfortingly on his back.

“I’m sorry Natsume. But this Matoba-guy, he doesn’t deserve you. I would never ever leave your side!” Hinoe crossed her arms in front of her chest, fuming with a little jealousy.

“Well that’s what happened. It was all my fault.” He chuckled, but it was a rather pitiful sound.

“I also don’t know why I like him, but I guess sometimes feelings just happen. Now I’m back here, but not very wiser.”

Everyone sighed, until Chobihige spoke up.

“I have a theory. I don’t know so much about human feelings, but I think this one I can explain.”

Natsume’s eyebrows went up.

“Please, tell us.”

Chobihige took a sip from his sake in order to make his speech even more dramatic.

“I don’t think Matoba doesn’t like you. I think it’s the other way around. He wants to protect you and therefore the only way he knows how to do it, is to push you away.”

“That’s a strange way to show affection!” Hinoe complained, but Natsume needed a moment to consider it.

Yes, yes maybe Chobihige was right. Maybe...the tiniest spark of hope started to kindle inside Natsume’s heart and his sadness was replaced by a thirst for action.

“You might be right. In this case, I should better talk to him again. I have to know, what his true intentions are.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Talk, talk!”

Seeing that they had managed to cheer Natsume up again, the entire Dog’s Circle started to celebrate anew and Natsume allowed himself to join the fun, but stayed away from the sake.

He returned back home before sunset and had dinner together with the Fujiwaras.

Sleeping in his old room felt terribly good. Of course he still missed Nyanko-sensei a lot and Matoba as well, but at least in here, his mind could rest for a while. He had no problems to fall into a deep and restful sleep.

*

The next morning Natsume woke up with an idea. It wouldn’t do to stay at Hitoyoshi. He wouldn’t achieve anything from here. He couldn’t go back to Matoba, but there was still Natori, who had offered him a shelter, if he needed one. Certainly it was kind of a bad move to contact him only now, the moment he needed his help, because Matoba had kicked him out. Natsume figured it was maybe a good chance to fix their friendship. Therefore he dialled the other’s number and waited.

It didn’t take long and Natori’s voice answered.

“Natsume, how,...how are you?”
Natori sounded a bit hesitant, therefore Natsume tried to soothe the tension.

“Hey, sorry, for not calling earlier. I think it’s sad, that we haven’t spoken as often as before and I’m also sorry for what happened at Matoba’s mansion. I never wanted the situation to escalate like that. I hope you know that our friendship means a lot to me and...I missed you.”

“Yeah, I missed speaking with you as well.”

“It’s important to speak with each other, when there was an argument and I think we should really sit down for a long talk. However, I want to be honest with you. I...had an argument with Matoba and I ended up getting send back to the Fujiwaras. This wasn’t Matoba’s fault. I really did something stupid, so I deserved this. However, I can not investigate Nyanko-sensei’s case all on my own.”

Natsume made a small pause. He felt terribly conflicted to ask this of Natori.

“Can I come over to your place?”

“Where are you right now?” Natori’s voice was full of concern, but there was also something else, which Natsume couldn’t yet place.

“I’m at home. At the Fujiwaras. Nanase left some protective enchantments, so it’s safe here.”

“Ah that’s good. Well, as you know, I won’t go back on my offer. You are always welcome here.”

“Thank you, Natori. Then I take the next train. See you.”

“Bye!”

After he ended the call Natsume furrowed his brows. He knew that Natori was a good guy with a kind heart, however this seemed a bit too easy, seeing that they hadn’t spoken in weeks and now he was welcome just like that? With a sigh, Natsume tried to ignore his own doubts. Who was he to apply double standards, when he himself was acting so selfishly?

*

Several hours later Natsume once again found himself in front of the building where Natori lived. Last time he’s had a hasty departure. He hoped this time things would not turn into a wrong direction just as quickly.

Taking a deep breath he pushed the bell and soon he heard Natori’s cheery voice.

“Hello Natsume! You know the way!”

“Thank you.”

The automatic door swung open and Natsume went inside.

Like always Natori was already waving at him, when he entered the corridor from the elevator.

“Hey there,” Natsume smiled, when he entered the flat. He put his bag on the ground and stepped into the living-room where Hiiragi was standing. She bowed.

“Good to see you Natsume.”

“Hello Hiiragi.”

“Sit down! You want a drink?”
Natori had the most dashing smile and for a second Natsume felt blinded by it. It was easy to see why anyone would fall in love with this man. However how Natori had managed to persuade even Matoba to fall for him, was beyond Natsume. Quickly he tried to shove this thought out of his mind.

Natori put two glasses with soda on the table and then he let himself fall on the couch.

“So tell me, how have you been? Have you found out anything about Nyanko-sensei?”

Chapter Text

Natsume told Natori everything which had happened so far, but the part about what had happened between him and Matoba he left out.

Natori leaned back against the cushion of his couch, with his drink in hand.

“That’s quite a lot. I also heard about that exorcist in the woods, but I never met her. You seem to naturally attract the most interesting people.”

Natori meant it as a joke, but Natsume didn’t feel like laughing.

“I don’t know. I would give a lot to live a normal day for once.”
Quickly Natori coughed and his face turned serious again.

“I know what you mean. I’m sorry. Now, I must thank you, that you made the first step and contacted me again.”
Natsume had not seen this coming and he wasn’t sure what to expect from his friend now.

Natori adjusted his posture and sat up a little straighter.

“You see, last time, I overreacted a bit. I must also still apologize to Matoba. What I did was...not so mature.”

For now Natsume decided to only listen.

“And I must apologize to you as well. First of all that I never told you about my past relationship with Matoba and second that I tried to keep you away from him.”

Natsume nodded.

“It’s okay. We all have things, we don’t want to tell.”

“Might be so, but still. We’ve been friends for so many years, I should have been more open about this.”

Natori looked remorseful at Natsume.

“Don’t worry, we are talking now, aren’t we?”

“Right and therefore I think I should tell you the whole story, if you want to hear it.”

Did he want to hear it? He certainly did not want to hear about Natori and Matoba being in love or how they’ve met, but still, maybe he could learn a thing or two, that could help him for his own agenda, regarding how to understand Matoba.

“Okay, go on.”

Natori swirled the liquid in his glass and looked into a faraway distance, before he continued.

“We’ve both been teenagers when we first met. It was at one of the exorcist meetings. Matoba got chosen to become the head of the clan and I think we’ve both been searching for a deeper meaning in our life.”

Natsume could well relate to that.

“Our paths crossed a few times, when we both went after the same yokai to exorcise. In a way I admired Matoba’s strength and I secretly wanted to learn from him. He always seemed so straightforward and without fear.”

Natori now held the empty glass in both his hands, looking down at it with a forlorn expression.

“I think it was me making the first step. I kinda talked him into this relationship, while the whole Matoba clan seemed to be outraged by it. In hindsight I think that was exactly why Matoba did it. He wanted to give them a reason to dismiss him as the head of the clan.”

So Matoba had his rebellious phase as well? It came as no surprise to Natsume, only that he had done it through a love affair, Natsume would never have thought.

“We’ve been like black and white or fire and water. Having someone near you, who is able to see yokai and understand your worries attached to it, was addicting. For the first time I felt understood and seen. I wasn’t the child anymore, that would bring havoc to the Natori-clan. Now I was an aspiring exorcist, with a bright future ahead, leading the clan back to grandeur and all this under the bright light of the Matoba-clan.”

Natori sighed.

“I truly overestimated what I was capable of and what he was capable of. One day, I think it was the fourth or fifth time that Matoba got attacked by the black yokai who was after his eye. This day I thought I could handle things and even help Matoba get rid of this curse. I wanted to prove to him my worth.”

Another very deep sigh followed.

“I messed up big time and brought myself into great danger. Matoba had to intervene and he got terribly hurt. Since then his right eye had a deep scar and he began to wear the protective eye-patch.”

This was big new to Natsume and a lot of things suddenly made sense.

“I was so very sorry. I never meant for Matoba to get hurt, especially not for me. His abilities had been far more precious than mine. I apologized a million times to him. Ultimately Matoba ended our relationship, telling me that I wasn’t worth having me around. My skills were too immature and I would never be a match to his skills. He sent me away, just like that. It broke my heart and my ego.”

A hollow laugh escaped Natori’s lips.

“But he only meant to protect me. He was the first one to understand that having someone near you, who can see yokai is not a blessing, but a curse. You would have to constantly worry about their safety and at one point in time, even the grandest abilities might not be enough to save the other. An exorcist’s burden can not be shared. We have to forever be alone.”

The loneliness which came radiating from Natori was almost suffocating Natsume.

“Now, last time, when you were here I felt deeply conflicted. I was jealous that he would allow you to be near him and at the same instant I didn’t want to share you with him. After all, you were the one who showed me, that there isn’t only black and white as an exorcist. I don’t have to be forever alone. I can have friends. Human friends and yokai alike and that gave me hope for the future.”

Finally Natori’s smile came back to his face and this time it was an earnest one.

“You have no idea how glad I am that you came into my life, Natsume. But I can not hold you hostage. You can live your life however you want. I’m sorry.”

Natsume put one hand over his own heart. It was overflowing with feelings. He was glad, that Natori had been this open with him, but now that he knew how much he actually mattered to Natori, it also made him a bit sad, that he had neglected his friend for such a long time.

“Shuuichi, I’m also glad we met. You might not know, but back then I think it was very important that I met you. Just like you said, when you can see yokai, you often feel lonely, but with you it gave me someone, a human, with whom I could share my thoughts and receive some guidance. Even if I didn’t always agree to your points, it was still a great help. You are like a big brother.”

Natsume laughed and Natori’s smile widened. Even the permanent smile on Hiiragi’s mask seemed to curl up a bit.

The rest of the evening the tension between Natori and Natsume had finally vanished and they were able to talk normally again.

When it became late Natori prepared his sofa bed for Natsume and then told him good night.

*

The next morning when Natori and Natsume had breakfast, they both suddenly felt a strange presence and even Hiiragi quickly turned around towards the window.

While all of them had expected something huge, there was just a small crow-like yokai flapping its wings outside the window.

“Should I get rid of it?” Hiiragi offered, but Natsume just then recognized the yokai.

“I know this one. He belongs to the exorcist in the woods. Please, let it in!”

Natsume and Natori both got up from their seats, while Hiiragi opened the window. The small yokai flew inside, made three rounds around the room and then landed right on top of the coffee table.

“I have an important message from my master!!” It crowed.

“Yes, please, tell me what you found out.”

Natsume sat down, so that he was at level with the yokai. The crow bowed then opened its beak again. However now his voice had change to the one of the female exorcist Natsume had met in the woods.

“Dear Natsume, I hope you are well. I am delighted to inform you, that I have found a clue regarding your missing cat. There is an exorcist living in Tokyo. He likes to collect rare things. He just tried to approach one of my shiki, but since they already had a contract, he wasn’t able to take them. But my shiki followed him back. You might take a look and see if he has your Nyanko. Wishing you the bestest of luck and please come and visit me, when you find the time. You find the exorcist at the following place.”

Then followed the exact address. Quickly Natori reached out for pen and paper and noted it down. Right after the yokai was finished with its message it got up into the air again and sped right through the open window and was gone.

“Whoa, that yokai was quite in a hurry. So this is the exorcist you mentioned before? The one where Matoba wanted to take you?”

“I guess so. He never told me exactly where we were going. Were you able to note everything down?” Natsume got up from the couch and looked at the sheet of paper in Natori’s hand.

“Yep, everything noted.” He got out his phone and entered the data, then he held out the screen to Natsume.

“There.”

Natsume took a look, but he had never been to this part of Tokyo.

Natori filled him in.

“That’s the most expensive area in Tokyo. Only politicians, stars and other unholy rich people are living there.”

“Ugh...so it might be impossible to get an appointment with him?”

“For you certainly, but maybe not for me. Let me make a few calls.”

While Natori was on the phone Natsume waited anxiously in the living-room. Maybe he would soon be reunited with Nyanko-sensei. Oh, he so wished that Nyanko was doing fine.

After what felt like an eternity Natori came back with a grin on his face and giving Natsume a thumps up.

“So, for once my career as a movie star was good for something. I pulled a few strings aaaaand now, we have a date with Mister Takagi Akio.”

“For real?” Natsume sprung from the couch and right in front of Natori who had to take a step backwards, if he didn’t want to crush into the other.

“My manager knew someone, who knew someone, who knew, well you know how it goes. We will meet with him in the afternoon. There should be enough time for us left to get to Tokyo right away.”

Natsume nodded enthusiastically.

“Say, Shuuichi, did you tell them the truth? Are we meeting him because of Nyanko-sensei?”

Natori shook his head.

“Not quite. Actually Mister Takagi seems to be a fan of me and he had already asked the agency for a meeting a few times. I’m going to meet him as myself and then we see where things are going.”

“A fan?” Natsume found this a little odd, but he didn’t ponder it any longer. As long as they were able to meet the exorcist and ask a few questions, everything should be fine.

*

It took them two hours to arrive at the right station in Tokyo. Natsume double-checked the address before they dared to approach the building. Soon they stood in front of a huge mansion, that was only barely visible over the even larger stone fence. The enormous iron gate at the entrance was secured with several cameras and even a guard was standing before it, who gave them a chilling look.

Natori removed his sunglasses and instantly fell into his usual role as a superstar.

He flashed the guard his brightest smile.

“Hello there, I’m Natori Shuuichi and I have an appointment here at five o’clock.”

The guard removed a phone from his pocket and seemed to check something on it.

“Who is the other one? There is no name noted here.”

Quickly Natsume sprung in.

“My name is Natsume Takashi and I’m Mister Natori’s assistant.”

The guard raised an eyebrow, then gave the phone-screen another look. Afterwards he typed down something, probably Natsume’s name and called someone.

“The guests arrived, please let them in.”

“Many thanks!” Natori bowed and Natsume followed suit.

Shortly afterwards the iron gate swung open and Natsume could see a beautiful garden, which ended at a western-style building. It had large windows to every side and almost looked like a glass cube.

While Natsume and Natori followed the path towards the building, the main door opened and a butler followed by two shiki was coming their way. Natsume and Natori exchanged glances. They silently agreed to ignore the shiki for now, pretending to be normal visitors.

The butler stopped in front of them and bowed.

“Welcome to the Takagi estate. My master wishes you a warm welcome. May I escort you to the receiving room?”

“Sure and thanks.” Natori was still all smiles.

They then arrived at a grand room, which only held the most exquisite designer furnitures. On the table and the drawers fresh flowers were arranged. Overall it was hard to miss, that someone lived here, who owned a lot of money.

The butler excused himself and for a moment Natsume and Natori were alone, except for the two shiki still watching their every move.

Natori didn’t hesitate and simply sat down on the luxurious leather couch.

“You can sit, too.” Natori patted the spot next to himself and Natsume did as he was told.

A moment later the butler returned and placed tea and cookies on the table, before he vanished again.

For some time Natsume simply kept his eyes on the steam coming from the teapot, until the door swung open once more.

A very good looking young man entered the room. He had short ruby red hair and fair skin. Most certainly he wore some designer clothes, only Natsume couldn’t really tell. For him it looked like a normal pair of blue jeans, paired with a black, form fitting shirt. He reminded Natsume of a K-Pop idol.

“Natori Shuuichi! I am so happy to finally have the honour to meet you in person!”

Chapter Text

Upon the arrival of their host, Natori got up from the seat and Natsume followed his example.

Mister Takagi held his hand out for Natori, who shook it enthusiastically.

“I never knew you were a fan of mine. I was shocked when my manager told me, that you already asked for a meeting several times. They never even mentioned you! I am truly sorry!”

“No matter, I’m happy we finally made it. You might already know, my name is Takagi Akio. And...who is this?”

Takagi raised a beautiful eyebrow and his eyes landed on Natsume. The way the other was looking at him send goosebumps all over his body. There was something terribly unnerving about this person. Even though his beauty was rivalling Natori’s, his smile had a dark and sinister side to it.

Natsume bowed.

“I’m just Mister Natori’s assistant. My name is Natsume Takashi.” He regretted telling his true name, when he spotted the expression on Takagi’s face.

“Is that so?”

Takagi let go of Natori’s hand and instead he placed both his hands at his own hips. The smile vanished right from his face.

“Now, now, seeing that we are among us, let’s not pretend anymore.”

“P...pretend?” Natsume was genuinely confused, therefore Natori took the lead again.

He gave the other his brightest smile.

“Would you please elaborate?”

Takagi snapped his fingers and the shiki immediately moved towards Natsume and Natori as if they were about to attack.

Not able to suppress their actions, both of them sprung to the side to avoid the contact.

Takagi started to laugh and the shiki retreated back to their initial post.

“Haha, I knew it. Now Mister Natori the filmstar and the exorcist, would you please not try to fool me anymore?”

“You got me there. I wasn’t aware that you have this ability as well. I really thought you were a fan of mine.”

“I am, but rather of your abilities as an exorcist. However, this young man there, his abilities seem to be quite extraordinary as are his looks.”

Natsume wasn’t sure if the conversation was taking a good or rather bad turn.

“Are you really his assistant?”

Natori answered.

“No he is not. He is my friend and to tell you the truth we came here, because we are searching for a yokai, which went missing a few weeks ago. Someone pointed us into your direction.”

“A missing yokai? Hmmm, I don’t know if I can help you.”

“His name is Madara and he looks like a very round lucky cat.” Natsume dared to speak up, hopeful, that this man might be able to help him.

“Madara you say?”

“Yes,” Natsume nodded and made a step towards the other.

“He is my friend and I am really worried about him.”

A sly smile appeared on Takagi’s face.

“I have many yokai here. Maybe you should take a look and he might be among them.”

“Really?”

“If you would follow me to my collection.” Takagi held out his arm invitingly and Natsume almost followed, but Natori put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“What about me?”

“Oh, I think I must ask you to wait here. My collection is not for anyone.”

“Is that so?” Natori’s expression turned frosty, but not because Takagi wasn’t inviting him, but more because he didn’t want to let Natsume go alone.

“It’s ok,” Natsume patted Natori’s hand.

“If I don’t return within an hour, you are allowed to set the place on fire.” He winked at the other, but Natori couldn’t laugh about the joke.

“Now, now, you don’t have to be afraid. I won’t eat him alive.”

Once again Natori tried to follow, but the shiki from behind intervened and held him back.

Natsume was torn.

“Let go of Natori, I will go with you.”

Just with the flick of his hand Takagi ordered the shiki to retreat and Natori angrily pulled himself away.

“One hour, then this place will burn,” Natori pressed out through gritted teeth.

After the door closed behind Natsume he had a bad feeling about all of this. Still for now he silently followed behind, until they arrived at a very large room, which was filled with shelves from top to bottom that held all kinds of trinkets, ornaments, jewels, vases and so much more. Also there were so many books old and new, it could easily rival the Matoba clan’s library. But what made Natsume gasp out loud, was the sight of thousands of bottles that apparently were storing captured yokai.

Takagi turned around and held his arms out wide.

“This is my little collection. I’m sure this must be quite the impressive sight for someone with you skills.”

Natsume felt sick and when he tried to answer, nothing came out of his mouth. Takagi oblivious to Natusme’s feelings, continued to boast.

“I have to say, I didn’t catch them all myself. Most of them I bought. You see, I am not blessed with a strong spiritual core like you are, but my ability lies in sensing gifted exorcists. I only need one touch,” Takagi held out his slender hand, “and then I know the strength of the other. This is really helpful, when I choose whom to hire in order to catch my next prized possession. Money is certainly not an issue, but skill very much is. This way I can make sure, that an exorcist is not exaggerating, when they offer their service. But mostly I choose with whom to work with myself.”

Natsume could feel the pain, misery, anguish and most dominantly the hate, that came radiating from the imprisoned yokai. If ever one of them was able to free themselves, this place would turn into a living nightmare.

“While I wanted to check out Natori for his powers, he brought me something even better.”

Natsume who hadn’t really paid the other any attention was startled when a long finger suddenly tapped against his chest.

“What?” Natsume furrowed his brows. He needed to get away from here or the emotions of all the yokai would suffocate him soon.

Takagi smiled brightly.

“You are the most gifted exorcist I have ever met. I would really like to offer you a job.”

“I am not an exorcist!” Natsume made a step backwards. He didn’t want to have anything to do with this lunatic, however he still needed to know if Nyanko-sensei was here. If he was locked up in one of these bottles, Natsume would never find any rest. This was the most horrible place for a yokai to stay at.

“What about Nyanko...Madara? Can you please tell me, if he is here?” Natsume tried, but without much hope to receive a reply.

Takagi sighed.

“Hey Natsume, I’m offering you a job. I pay whatever you desire. You just need to catch a yokai for me. You exorcists are doing this all the time, don’t you? So what matters one more?”

“I’m NOT an exorcist!” Natsume’s head started to ring and it became harder and harder for him to stay focussed. He raised one hand to cover his ear, but to no avail. It was impossible to block out all their voices.

“Really? That would be quite the wasted potential. Then let’s try a different approach.”

Takagi slung an arm around Natsume’s waist and pulled him flush against his body. Natsume who was too disoriented, could hardly resist anymore and soon he felt the other’s warm breath against his ear.

“How about this? You’ll be a good boy and catch the one yokai for me and in return I will tell you if your little yokai friend is part of my collection.”

Natsume was so done with this lunatic. His arm swung upwards and soon his fist punched against the other’s perfect cheek.

“Show me Nyanko-sensei first and stop touching me!”

Takagi wiped his face with the back of his hand and when he looked up, he didn’t seem the least bit enraged. Actually there was a fire in his eyes, that made Natsume make a step backwards.

The red-head made one gesture with his hand and several shiki appeared out of nowhere, that instantly captured Natsume and held his arms and legs, so that it became impossible for Natsume to move.

“What a feisty one you are. I really like your style.”

Takagi stepped closer towards Natsume, who glowered at him.

“Why so defiant? I think we are actually a very good match. I would treat you like a prince, shower you with gifts, you wouldn’t ever have to ask for anything again.”

Takagi’s hand softly stroked over Natsume’s left cheek. Natsume tried to shake it off, but without much success.

Soon the hand grabbed his chin and forcefully made him look upwards.

“I could fulfil your every wish, your desires. Just let me be the one for you.”

Takagi leaned closer and when Natsume could almost feel the other’s lips on his own, there was suddenly the door of the room flying open and a thousand paper-dolls came flying in and were bringing complete chaos to the room.

The shiki had to let go of Natsume and they were instead trying to protect their master, which was almost completely covered in paper.

“Natori!!” Natsume called out through the storm of paper.

“One hour is up, let’s go!” Natori had the darkest expression on his face.

“But what about Nynanko-sensei?”

“He’s not here.” Natori said with such a finality, that Natsume’s doubts were almost snuffed out.

“How do you know?”

Natori’s face turned incredulous.

“Do you really want to stay with this jerk any longer? In that case please excuse me for interrupting whatever you were doing!”

“Sorry...you are right. Let’s go.” Natsume quickly followed behind Natori through the house, using the momentum while Takagi and his shiki were still preoccupied fighting the paper-dolls.

Their entire way back to Natori’s apartment Natsume kept his mouth shut. He really didn’t want to talk about what had just happened and Natori already looked like he was about to go back, to give this Takagi guy another fair beating.

Only when they were back inside Natori’s living-room, was the older man not able to hold his emotions back. He grabbed Natsume by his shoulders and his eyes became worried.

“What was he discussing with you?”

Natsume was a bit startled by this sudden outburst and stammered when he answered.

“He said he could sense my abilities and he wanted to offer me a job, to catch a certain yokai for him.”

“What did he offer you as a payment? Was it Nyanko?”

“He offered money and that he might tell me if Nyanko is part of his collection.”

“Did you agree?”

“Hell no!”
“And…did he touch you?”

Natsume’s eyes darted to the side. He didn’t want to remember that moment, it was making his stomach twist into a tight knot.

“I punched his pretty face, before he could.”

“Good!” Natori let go off him again with a satisfied expression.

“Don’t worry. Nyanko really isn’t there. He was just toying with us. Now there is only one exorcist left and I’m sure with our combined effort, we will soon find them and bring Nyanko finally back to you.”

Natori patted Natsume on his shoulder one last time, giving him an encouraging smile.

“Yeah, you are right. Just one more to go.”

“This was a long day. Let’s go to bed now and tomorrow we see what we can find out, ok?”

“Yeah,” Natsume nodded and already felt how the impressions of the day were starting to make his body feel as if all the life got drained from it.

“You can use the bathroom first.”

“Thanks,” with a yawn Natsume started to get ready for the night.

*

At night it was almost impossible for Natsume to fall asleep. The overwhelming emotions from the yokai at the mansion kept on hunting him. He felt terribly sorry for all the locked up yokai. Their fate was so cruel, it weighed heavily on Natsume’s heart.

In the end he sat up on the couch inside the dark room and his mind started to spin. He thought about the almost kiss Takagi gave him. With a sigh he realized that he terribly missed the Matoba, especially now. Then again he thought about the story Natori had told him. That Matoba had send him away back then, because he most likely wanted to protect him.

Was this situation maybe the same? Had Matoba only been so angry, because he cared about Natsume? Then if they both cared about each other, why should they live apart? Both of them would end up unhappy and lonely.

Natsume felt a sting run through his heart. He didn’t want Matoba to be lonely. When he imagined him sitting alone in the Japanese garden with only the angry yokai above him for company, there were tears flowing down Natsume’s cheeks.

No, he wouldn’t let Matoba push him away! If he felt even the tiniest bit for Natsume, then he needed to know. He would never leave him and they both would never have to be alone ever again!

Not able to wait any second longer, Natsume sprung to his feet, started to gather all his things and wrote a small note for Natori. Only when he was about to open the door, did suddenly Hiiragi show up in front of him.

“Leaving already?”

Taken by surprise, Natsume made a step backwards and almost let all his bag crash to the ground.

“Shhh, Hiiragi, I have to go now. I really need to see Matoba.”

“In the middle of the night?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s wake Natori, he might drive you with his car. It’s not safe outside at night.”

“No, no, don’t wake him! There is no need. I just head over to the train-station. It will be much faster going by train.”

Hiiragi tilted her head, apparently she didn’t know if it really was faster or not.

“Ok, then I go with you Natsume and protect you.”

Natsume opened his mouth in protest, but since he knew Hiiragi very well, he closed his mouth again and just nodded.

“Thank you.”

When Natsume boarded the train towards the area where Matoba was living, he was the only passenger inside the compartment and therefore there was no need to ignore Hiiragi, who was sitting right next to him.

“Thanks again for accompanying me.”

“You don’t have to thank me Natsume. I only do, what my master would have asked me to anyways.”

Natsume smiled.

“You are probably right.”

“But also…,” Hiiragi started to wring her hands in her lap, which was a very uncommon behaviour for her.

“Also, I want to thank Natsume. Thank you for being such a good friend for Natori. But…I was wondering why you don’t want to be more for him?”

“Huh?” Natsume’s eyes went wide. Of all the things Hiiragi could ask, he would have never expected this.

“I...I don’t think he would want me in the first place.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Natori was once together with Matoba and I think it was because he wanted someone who can also see yokai. This way he wouldn’t be alone with this burden. Bringing someone without spiritual abilities into a relationship might be dangerous. But...I think with this mindset you can only make a wrong decision. Natori needs someone who accepts him just the way he is. Where he doesn’t have to lie or pretend anymore.”

Hiiragi nodded silently.

“I know I’m looking like the most obvious choice, but just because I am the only available choice right now, it must not be the right one. Really, from the bottom of my heart, I wish for him to be happy, but I can only offer him my friendship on the way.”

For a long time Hiiragi didn’t answer and only stared down at her hands.

“I understand Natsume and I must thank you again for being so open. I overstepped. I want my master also to be happy, therefore I hoped you...but I see now, that I was wrong.”

Natsume gave the yokai a warm smile and put one hand on her shoulder.

“No need to apologize. It is good to know, that we both want the same thing. And actually I don’t think Natori is sad or alone at the moment.”

“You are right. He has good friends now.”

Chapter Text

In the middle of the night Natsume ended up in front of the Matoba estate, where Hiiragi then excused herself and vanished back into the darkness. Natsume didn’t know what he was expecting. Would someone even let him in? He knew it was very late and no one in their right mind should go and answer the door at a time like this.

Still with a long sigh, Natsume just gave it a try. If no one would come, he might just crash at a manga café or something.

He waited and waited and just when he was about to turn away, a shiki stood in front of him.

“Oh?” Natsume made a step backwards. He didn’t expect a yokai to be sent to the door.

“Natsume Takashi?” The yokai asked with a monotonous voice.

“Yeah, I want to speak with Matoba.” Natsume bowed politely, not sure if the yokai even cared. Without a reply the yokai simply became smoke again and was gone. For a very long time nothing happened.

Torn between waiting and leaving, Natsume clenched his firsts.

Then finally the large door was slowly opened and the old housekeeper, draped in a brown dressing gown, gave Natsume a puzzled look.

“Natsume? My dear, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
“I’m sorry,” Natsume bowed low, “I really need to speak with Matoba.”

“Can’t this wait until tomorrow? Matoba is resting.”

“I know, I know. I’m really sorry. Please, can I come in? If he is asleep I can wait until tomorrow, but just, don’t send me away.”

The housekeeper sighed and shook her head.

“I have no idea what this is about, but I certainly won’t let you standing outside for the rest of the night. Come in, come in.”

She ushered Natsume into the corridor and closed the door behind him.

“Please have a seat in the guest hall. I think you’ll find it on your own? I will make some tea and see if Matoba might still be awake. Otherwise I go and find a spare room for you.”

“Of course. Thank you.” Natsume bowed again and then went straight to the guest hall. He still remembered every door inside the mansion very well. It really had become some kind of second home to him. It made him happy to be back, even if he knew, that it was only a very temporary return.

When he entered the guest room, he switched on the light and took a seat on the cushion on the floor. Oh, how he missed the times, when he and Matoba had eaten here together.

Now with every passing minute Natsume turned more and more anxious. He had come here on a whim, but now, what would he tell Matoba? Should he apologize? Should he tell him what had happened with Natori and how the visit at the exorcist in Tokyo had gone?

He didn’t really know where to start and the moment the door opened again and a furious looking Matoba stepped inside, Natsume forgot all his vocabulary.

“Why are you here? Honestly is it really so hard to do what I’m asking you to?”

“I’m sorry,” Natsume started and went to his feet. He had missed Matoba so much and his stomach clenched, now that he was finally seeing him again. His heart was taken by fear. Had it been a mistake to come back?

Was he pushing his luck too far?

Matoba made another step towards Natsume, who resembled a deer caught in headlights right now. Matoba’s expression relaxed a little and he shook his head.

“You are hopeless.”

“Matoba, please listen to me.” Natsume tried again, but he was interrupted by the housekeeper, who brought the tea and some snacks.

“Here, have a seat,” Matoba invited Natsume to sit down with a gesture of his hand, which he gladly accepted. After Matoba had poured both of them a cup of tea, Natsume took the cup between his hands as if this was a life-line, navigating him through a storm.

“First of all I want to apologize. I went too far, when I interfered with the yokai. You asked me not to, but I didn’t listen, because I thought...well I thought I could handle it. It was actually only luck, that nothing serious happened. Therefore, I won’t mess with things ever again, if you say I shouldn’t.”

Matoba crossed his arms in front of his chest, but he patiently waited for what Natsume had to say.

“Also, well, me and Natori, we went out and met with the rich exorcist in Tokyo, but he...let’s just say it’s unlikely that he caught Nyanko-sensei. So there is only one exorcist left.”

For the next part Natsume needed to gather all his courage.

“And then, now...I know it’s a lot to ask, but, can I stay at your place again?”

Natsume wrung the hem of his shirt under the table. His hands had become terribly sweaty.

Matoba took a sip from his tea, then he swirled the content, as if he was contemplating something.

“You can stay. However the circumstances changed. Right now, it will be more important than ever that you absolutely follow my every command. Otherwise I won’t be able to guarantee your safety.”

“Ok…? Well I promise I will always do as you say.” Natsume bowed, however Matoba’s words were actually quite confusing. What had changed? Why was Natsume’s safety in danger?

It was only now that Natsume noticed, that Matoba was wearing his eyepatch. Just when Natsume opened his mouth to ask, Matoba stopped him.

“I will explain everything to you. But not here. Just one last warning. You have always the option to leave this place, if you don’t agree with my methods. You don’t have to put up with it.”

“Understood!” Natsume nodded a bit too enthusiastic.

“Good. Well then, if you will follow me.”

“Ok,” Natsume got up and went after Matoba, who seemed to lead them to Natsume’s old room. Yet they simply passed the door and Natsume looked back, wondering where they were going. In the end they stood in front of Matoba’s room and for the first time Natsume was invited inside.

When he stepped over the threshold Natsume’s heart was almost jumping out of his mouth. What was going on?

Matoba didn’t seem the least bit fazed. He simply switched on the light and held out a hand, asking Natsume to sit down on the tatami with him again.

Hesitantly Natsume looked around. The room was almost like the one Natsume had stayed at, at the other side of the corridor. Only here a few more personal things were stored. There was a large bookshelf, where between other books and magazines, Natsume easily spotted his own works. Immediately his cheeks turned pink. Quickly he averted his gaze and sat down opposite Matoba.

Just now Matoba’s posture changed from regal to relaxed and he removed the eyepatch. Underneath his eye was still as good as new. He leaned back on his hands and gave Natsume a smile.

“I’m sorry. I can not offer you your old room right now. You see, my older sister is visiting us currently. She hasn’t been here in ages and I actually didn’t expect her to show up ever again.”

“Ah, so she is back in her old room then.”

“Indeed. You should know, originally she was supposed to become the head of the clan, however in the end I was chosen, because of my stronger spiritual abilities. She didn’t really agree with this decision and left the house, never to return. So we are not on the best terms.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

“Yeah, as you already know she is a writer just like you and therefore she usually refrains from working as an exorcist.”

“Now that you mention it again. I read a few of her books some years ago after I met her at...well some kind of occult party I happened to be at.”

“You met her? When, where?” Matoba’s voice had an urgent tone.

“That was when I still went to school. Me and Tanuma accidentally ended up being at a strange party, where they tried to summon a yokai. Shinobu was a guest as well.”

“Did you tell her who you are?”

Natsume shook his head.

“No, I didn’t tell anyone my name.”

“That’s good. Very good. Let’s hope she still doesn’t know, who you really are.” Matoba leaned back with a sigh.

“Well, she would never visit me without a reason. So I guess she must have found out something that interests her enough in order to come and take a look herself, if there is something worth her attention. She is very much interested in the most rare and the most valuable yokai and magical objects.”

Matoba tapped his lips again, his face grim.

“My guess is that this might have something to do with you.”

“With me? Why should she know about me?”

“I’m not sure. But her presence is not good news. Actually I need to ask something of you already.”

“Yeah ok. I just agreed I would do as you say.”

“Hahah,” Matoba chuckled and his mischievous grin appeared on his lips.

“That was before you knew what would come. So I would like you to interact with her very little. Don’t let yourself get dragged into any conversations. If you must, be impolite and dodge her questions. Also, please don’t tell her your real name, or that you are actually a writer like her. Probably it’s best if we use a fake name for you. How about...Rin Fujiwara?’”

“Huh? Rin Fujiwara? Ok,...well I hope I can remember.”

“You absolutely have to!”

Natsume repeated the name silently a few times, then he nodded.

“Ok, got it. Anything else?”

“We need a backstory...right. So, this is easy.”

An even wider grin spread over Matoba’s face.

“Seeing that you are going to share a room with me from now on, let’s tell her that you are my lover.”
“What?!” Natsume’s face instantly turned tomato red and his mouth helplessly opened and closed.

“It’s the most believable. She knows that I don’t have friends and she knows I’m into men. There is nothing fishy about this. Also this way I can keep you close enough so that it will be difficult for her to get her hands on you.”

“But….I…,” Natsume was torn. He had promised not to object to anything Matoba was going to ask of him, but now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Matoba easily brushed the other’s concerns off.

“Most of the times you hopefully won’t have to interact with her. Also I am going to tell the staff and the shiki to repeat the same story to her.”

With a long sigh Natsume nodded.

“...anything else?”

“Indeed. About your spiritual abilities. It’s best if you hide those, too.”

“I don’t think I can hide it completely. It would be easy for her to test me, if she gets me by surprise.”

Matoba tapped his lips with his finger.

“You are probably right. Also how should I be interested in anyone who can not see yokai? Then how about you perceive yokai, but only as vague schemes.”

Natsume nodded.

“Like my friend Tanuma. That could work.”

Matoba now leaned forwards and put his elbows on the table, while resting his head on his folded hands.

“She is going to test you anyways. At one point, she will most likely show you a kimono. If you don’t have any abilities it will look white to you, but the more capable you are, the more vivid the colours will become. I see it as a dark crimson kimono with an intricate golden peony pattern. You better lie about what you are seeing.”

“Understood, but I still don’t get what she wants from me? She can hardly want me for her collection, does she?”

Matoba once again leaned back and stared and Natsume for a very long time.
“You tell me, is there maybe something in your possession which might be of interest to her?”

Natsume’s hand involuntarily reached up to the hidden bag underneath his shirt and he couldn’t help but start chewing the inside of his cheeks.

“There might be something.”

“Well, whatever it is, you better keep it far away from her.”

With this Matoba stood up, ending the conversation and leaving a startled Natsume behind. Did Matoba not want to ask what it was that Natsume owned? Or did he already know?

While Natsume was still lost in his thoughts, Matoba started to bring out a second futon and placed it right next to his own.

Finally Natsume found his voice again.

“Say, why are you wearing the eyepatch again, is it also because of your sister?”

“I don’t yet want to make this public. This would put even more attention on you. I doubt getting famous among all exorcists is something you want or am I wrong?”

Natsume vehemently shook his head.

“No, I really don’t want that.”

“See? Then just play along like I told you.”

“Matoba, do you think it’s possible that Shinobu has Nyanko-sensei?”

“From now on you should better call me Seiji,” Matoba winked and Natsume’s cheeks immediately became hot again.

“And no, she would not. Shinobu hates cats.”

Chapter Text

The next morning Matoba and Natsume took their breakfast together in the guest hall. While they talked about some trivial topics, the door was suddenly slid open. An androgynous looking woman with short blond hair, wearing a modern suit, walked into the room as if she was the master of the mansion and not Matoba.

“Good morning Seiji,” she smiled, before her gaze landed on Natsume.

“Oh? And who might this young man be, a visitor this early?”

She let herself fall on the ground and sat right next to Natsume, staring at him with her intense blue eyes.

Natsume gulped, but before he could answer Matoba already helped him out.

“This is Rin Fujiwara and he is not a visitor. He lives with me.”

“Oh?” Shinobu’s lips made an interesting upwards turn and Natsume just wanted to hide somewhere inside a dark hole.

“He lives here? With you?”

Shinobu now leaned over closer to Natsume, inspecting him from head to toe. Natsume felt how the tips of his ears became hot.

“Hello,” he managed to press out, not sure how he should address the other.

“So, he is your lover?” Shinobu simply ignored Natsume.

“That is correct.” Matoba looked completely unfazed by the interrogation.

“You haven’t dated anyone in ages! What’s so special about...wait.”

Shinobu reached out a hand and grabbed Natsume’s chin. Without any permission she forced his head upwards and studied his features.

“I have seen you before...haven’t I?”

Natsume wasn’t sure, if he should tell the truth or not, in the end he reacted out of habit and angrily slapped her hand away.

“Hey, don’t just touch me!”

“Ups, sorry, about that!”

Shinobu wasn’t sorry at all and leaned back over to her brother.

“He’s kinda cute I have to admit. Since when are you dating?”

“Two months.”

“And...does he, know?”

“Yes, he does. He can perceive them as well, but not see them clearly.”

With a wide grin Shinobu turned back to Natsume.

“Say, how many yokai are behind me?” She pointed with her thumb at the four yokai which had followed her inside the room.

While Natsume had no idea, why Shinobu had brought them with her in the first place, he answered vaguely.

“I...I’m not sure. I only see some unclear shadows. Could be three or maybe even four.”

“Interesting!”

Once again she ignored Natsume afterwards.

“I didn't expect you to choose someone less gifted than you a second time. I thought you learned your lesson. Last time didn’t end so well as I remember. Must be some kind of wired preference.”

Her laughter sounded cruel and Natsume felt sorry for Matoba that he had to play along with her vicious remarks.

“Say, Shinobu, as much as I like to chat. Why not get to the point instead? Why exactly are you here?”

“Can I not come back to my home, the place of my birth? Where my family lives? Do I really need a reason?”

Matoba tzk-ed and tilted his head.

“You haven’t been here for over ten years! If you truly loved your family, where have you been when they put father to his grave? Where have you been during mother’s funeral? Don’t tell me anything about love.”

Shinobu didn’t look hurt by Matoba’s words. Instead she fixed her eyes back on Natsume.

“I followed some rumours and seeing that the trace led me to a place around here, I figured it would be more convenient to stay at home and investigate for a few days.”

“Then please investigate as much as you like. I believe you still know your way around in this mansion. My home is your home.”

Shinobu had an interesting smile on her face. Quickly she stood up again.

“Thank you Seiji, see you!”

She waved and then she and her four shiki were gone again.

Natsume let out a breath he wasn’t aware that he had been holding.

“Last time I saw her, she wasn’t like this.”

“Oh, she can be quite lovely if she wants to. A real people pleaser. But not around me.”

“That’s sad somehow. I mean your are siblings.”

“Don’t be sad. It’s a waste of energy.”

Natsume wanted to say more, but Matoba stopped him.

“I’m sorry, I have an appointment now and I can’t bring you along. Please be extra careful today.”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Good.”

Matoba stood up and came over to where Natsume was still sitting on the floor. Out of the blue his hand reached out and landed on Natsume’s cheek. With this he made Natsume look upwards and then he leaned down and pressed his lips on the other’s.

Natsume’s heart skipped several beats and his eyes flew wide open. He felt hot and cold all at the same time and even though Matoba’s lips were already gone, he could still perceive his heat and taste. With a shock Natsume realized that this had just been his very first kiss.

“Have a nice day, darling.”

Matoba’s voice was soft, almost a whisper and for a second Natsume felt like he wasn’t awake, but still dreaming. How had things come to this? How could Matoba suddenly return his feelings?

But then his heart sank. Natsume’s eyes caught a movement behind Matoba and he saw that Shinobu was still watching. His brain finally caught up. This was the plan they had agreed upon: playing lovers.

Reluctantly Natsume forced a smile.

“Take care, Seiji.” Especially the last part sounded so terribly unnatural, Natsume doubted he could fool anyone with this. However the smile that Matoba gave him, was so dazzling, he couldn’t help but return it. It made him look like the biggest fool in love and he wanted to slap his own face, but barely managed to hold back.

As if Natsume had just imagined it, just a second later Shinobu was gone.

*

In the afternoon Natsume tried to distract himself by working on his book. Omly he couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss. Every now and then his hand reached up and slid over his lips, as if he wanted to recreate the feeling, that was now long gone.

They had kissed. A fake kiss, but nevertheless a kiss. Thinking about it made his stomach flutter and his cheeks immediately turned rosy. No doubt, he was terribly in love with Matoba and that was exactly the reason why he felt that playing his boyfriend was an especially cruel task. At the same time, he understood that Shinobu might be a real threat, so Matoba hopefully only meant well. But still…Natsume ruffled his own hair and groaned.

“Why me….why must everything be so complicated.”

Finally he let his head fall onto the keyboard and for a moment he closed his eyes.

Admittedly Natsume had not much experience when it came to kissing, but somehow his heart told him, no, it insisted, that this kiss had felt real.

Sure Matoba probably had way more know-how and therefore he might be skilled in faking it, but somehow...somehow Natsume wished it to be more.

With his heart and mind in chaos, working on his book was impossible and soon Natsume simply closed the laptop. Just when he was about to get up, there was a knock on the door.

Natsume had an idea, who this would be and he hesitated to answer. Not sure if it would make him look even more suspicious, when he hid inside the room, he then decided to face her head on.

He opened the door and as expected before him stood Shinobu with a charming smile on her face. Like this she resembled Matoba a lot.

“Hello, what can I do for you Miss Matoba?”

“Miss Matoba?” Shinobu laughed out loud.

“No please, you are family. Please call me Shinobu.”

Natsume nodded.

“Ok, Shinobu, how can I help you. Ma...Seiji isn’t here right now.”

“That’s ok. Actually I was searching for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes, you. Would you like to take a walk with me? I want to get to know you.”

“Well, I am very busy right now. I am working from home, so I don’t have much time.”

Natsume pointed at the closed laptop behind him and cursed inwardly. This didn’t look like being busy at all.

“No problem. We simply take a walk through the mansion. You’ll be back in less than ten minutes.”

Natsume thought about it. Was it more fishy to join her or to refuse?

“Ok, I was about to take a small break anyways.”

“Brilliant!” Shinobu beamed.

Natsume followed her into the corridor and closed the door behind him. For some time they walked in silence and Natsume realized that not only Shinobu’s four shiki were following them, but also a few of Matoba’s shiki were close behind. They were probably send in order to keep an eye on Natsume.

“Say, Rin, can I call you Rin?”

“Sure.”

“Ok, Rin, say what are you working as?”

“I’m an accountant.” Natsume lied.

“Really isn’t that boring?”

“Not at all. It’s very satisfying when in the end all the numbers match.”

He had heard this phrase once from Natori in a movie, where he had played an accountant, who accidentally got into Mafia business.

“Hm, I never had a thing for numbers. Now, the most important question, how did you and Matoba meet?”

This wasn’t so hard to answer. Natsume decided to stick to the truth.

“I got chased by an evil yokai. I couldn’t see it clearly, but I could perceive its dark aura, it was as if it was sucking the life out of me. Matoba saved me from it, since he had been in the area for an exorcist job.”

“How romantic! So he was your white knight who saved the princess.”

“I’m not a princess!” Natsume once again reacted out of habit. It still made him angry, when people emphasized his feminine features.

“No? But you do look kind of frail. Maybe that’s why he fell for you.”

“If there is nothing else, I should better return to my work now.”

Natsume was about to turn around, when Shinobu reached out and held his arm.

“Sorry, if I offended you. Please don’t leave yet. I need your help with something. Can you please stay a little longer?”

Shinobu gave him her most dashing smile and it almost hurt that she reminded him so much of her brother.

Natsume didn’t agree, but he also didn’t move, which Shinobu took as a yes. She let go of Natsume and happily clapped her hands.

“You know, I am invited to a spring festival and there are many influential people. Now I need to decide which kimono to wear. I would like your opinion on this.”

So there it was, the kimono test, of which Matoba had warned him about.

“Why do you need my opinion, just wear whatever you want?”

“No, no, that’s not how it’s working. You see, usually I prefer to wear men’s clothes. I don’t really know what women are wearing. Therefore I need you, as a man, to tell me, which one you think would be best for a woman like me.”

Natsume frowned. Her reasoning was so faulty, who in his right mind would agree to this. But seeing that she would probably insist, regardless of what Natsume wanted, he ultimately agreed.

“Fine.”

“Brilliant, just follow me.”

She brought Natsume to one of the old store rooms, where she slid the door open and held out her hand invitingly. Inside were two kimono hanging from a kimono-holder.

However both of them were a dark crimson red with a golden peony pattern. They looked almost identical!

Natsume cursed inwardly! Shinobu was quite clever. If Natsume really wasn’t much gifted in spiritual power, one of them should look white or pinkish to him, while the other would still be a dark crimson one.

It would be easy to see a difference. Shinobu was apparently expecting him to be more than he told her to be.

Telling the difference now, was almost impossible.

“These are my two options. Which one should I wear to the festival?”

Natsume was speechless. Whatever he would say it would probably immediately give the truth away.

“Well…they are both very beautiful. But to decide I need more information. Is this a festival during daytime or in the evening?”

He tried to stall for time, but Shinobu saw right through him.

“It’s for the evening.”

“Then both work well. I think both suit you very much.”

“Hm, but isn’t the pattern too much on this one?” She didn’t indicate which one she meant.

Now this was a catch question. There should only be one kimono with a pattern and right now Natsume wasn’t sure which one was the magical kimono. If he said yes, he admitted to see it, if he asked where the pattern was, but it was the normal kimono, then again, she would realize that he was lying.

“Well,” Natsume’s brain was working hard. How could he answer, how could he hide his abilities? He made a step forwards, reached out with one hand and felt the fabric of both kimonos. Much to his relief, he could immediately tell, that the right fabric was pulsing with spiritual energy, while the other was just normal fabric.

Quickly Natsume pointed at the normal kimono.

“Seeing that it’s a spring festival, I would take this one. The fabric is not too heavy, but also not too thin, for a cold spring evening. But the best part is probably the pinkish colour. It matches the cherry blossoms. The other kimono is too dark for a spring occasion.”

Shinobu crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her eyebrows. Natsume made a step backwards. Shinobu also reached out to feel the kimonos, but the disappointment was showing on her face, as if she had expected to feel something, but felt nothing.

“The pinkish one you say? You are probably right, it really is the colour of cherry blossoms.”

“Well then, I will go back to work.”

Before Natsume left the room, Shinobu once again spoke up.

“Apparently it’s really not your skill regarding the supernatural that Seiji likes. You must be really good in bed then.”

Natsume’s face instantly became bright red, but before Shinobu could see, he turned around and fled the scene.

Chapter Text

In the evening, when Matoba returned from his work, Natsume was already waiting for him to tell him what had happened during the day.

Matoba nodded with a smile.

“That was quite clever of you. I guess, she wasn’t able to also sense the energy radiating from the fabric.”

“Yeah, probably. But it was only luck, that I managed to get away without her finding out about my true abilities. She is indeed cunning.”

“Of course, she is my sister. We had the same teacher.”

“I heard from Natori, that you were chosen as head of the clan already when you were a teenager, why so early?”

“My father was very sick at the time and my mother had to take care of him. He couldn’t do any exorcist work anymore, therefore they had to quickly appoint someone else, also to appease the yokai, which was after his eye.”

“And why didn’t they choose your sister, seeing that she was more mature?”

Matoba swayed his head on his shoulders.

“First of all, I was the one with better abilities, but most of all, my father didn’t want a girl to suffer his fate. If a man lost an eye, it would not harm his looks, but for a girl, it would be too cruel.”

“That’s not really fair.”

“No, it wasn’t. My sister was tired of being treated as a lofty princess, with no responsibilities. That’s the reason why she left in the end and why she still prefers dressing as a man.”

“So both of you weren’t happy with the choice?”

“I don’t know. Back then I felt pretty good, that I snatched the position away from her, but by now...I think she also would have done quite well. But it can’t be changed.”

“Can you not make her head of the clan?”

Matoba chuckled.

“Why should I? Even if I offered the position to her, she would never accept.”

“Why not?”

“Her pride.”

Natsume tilted his head. For a long time he thought about it, but in the end he gave up. Both siblings were really special in their way of thinking.

Afterwards both of them went into the dining room for dinner. As expected Shinobu was already there, waiting for them.

“Dear brother how good to see you and your little lovebird!”

Shinobu was dressed in casual clothes this time, a pair of jeans and a tight shirt. However she still looked more like a tomboy than anything else. Actually Natsume thought, apart from the hair-colour, the siblings looked quite similar and it made him frown.

Since Shinobu was already sitting at one long side of the table, Matoba and Natsume took a seat on the ground next to each other opposite her.

Soon the staff came in and they started to pile up food. They also poured everyone a cup of tea, before they bowed and took their leave.

“Oh that looks and smells so delicious! Brother, maybe I should extend my stay, if only for the good food.”

“Do as you wish.” Matoba took Natsume’s rice bowl and started to fill it with steaming hot rice, then he handed it back to him. Natsume felt extremely unnerved by this gesture. Either Touko would do this for him or he would have done it himself. Like this it looked so much…well, like being in a relationship. It seemed to come natural to Matoba to treat him like his partner, while Natsume only felt his cheeks heating up again. He really needed to pull himself together. They were pretending to be dating for two months already. Why should he still blush in a situation like this.

“You know Seiji, I showed Rin our kimono today. He liked the pink colour.” She giggled behind her hand, as if this was the most amusing thing in the world.

“I must say, you really have a bad taste regarding skill levels.”

Matoba looked up from his food and his gaze could have killed.

“You are my guest here, but don’t try my patience. The reasons for choosing a partner are mine alone. But speaking of which, I heard you are still single? Are your standards maybe too high?”

Shinobu still smiled and put a large ball of rice into her mouth. While she chewed she kept on staring at her brother.

Finally she swallowed everything down and pointed a finger at Matoba.

“Keep out of my affairs and I will keep out of yours.”

“Then we have an agreement.”

“As if.” Shinobu raised her chin and then her attention shifted back to Natsume, who just didn’t want to be here anymore.

“One of my shiki told me, that you look very similar to someone they have met once. Do you happen to know a Natsume Reiko?”

Natsume couldn’t help but start coughing violently. Matoba instantly began to softly rap him on his back and finally he was able to clear his throat again.

“Sorry,” he reached for his tea and took a large gulp.

“What was the name again?”

“Natsume Reiko,” Shinobu repeated innocently.

Natsume made a face as if he was thinking very hard, until he shook his head.

“Never heard of her.”

“Such a pity. But you know, I once read that every person has around seven doppelgänger, maybe you are one of hers.”

“Hahah, yeah maybe,” Natsume tried to smile but it looked so forced, that he quickly decided to cover it with eating more food.

The rest of the dinner went by without further incidents, only when dessert was brought in and the main dishes were put away, was a disaster happening inevitable.

As usual Natsume skipped dessert and only the siblings were both eating a piece of brandied cherry tart with whipped cream.

After two bites, Matoba stopped, only to put a large chunk on his fork and offer it to Natsume.

“Here Rin, you should try this,” he said with a disarming smile.

Matoba held out the fork in front of Natsume’s face, inviting him to take the a bite.

Sighing only inwardly, Natsume opened his mouth and soon felt the sweet and rich cake assaulting his taste buds.

He chewed and swallowed.

“It’s good, thanks...Seiji.”

“Wait, there is some cream.”

Matoba leaned over even further and very slowly he let his thump swipe over Natsume’s lower lip. Natsume was petrified and it was as if he was only seeing things in slow-motion. Next Matoba licked the cream from his finger, while never even once breaking eye-contact with him. Natsume felt hot and cold all at once and first and foremost, he wanted to hide himself from the other’s eyes.

“My, my, please go to your room for this. I can’t stand it!” Shinobu made a gesture with her hand as if she wanted to wave them away, then she sprung to her feet and quickly left the room.

The moment Natsume heard the door close again, the spell was broken and he hastened to lean away from Matoba and then he rubbed over his lips with the back of his hand.

“What are you…?” He was about to protest, but Matoba put a finger on his lips and shook his head, almost not perceivable.

“Let’s go to bed, darling.”

Understanding, that they were still not out of earshot from Shinobu, Natsume only nodded. When he stood up, Matoba’s hand was searching for his and the moment he found it, he held on tight. Natsume’s knees were going weak. All of this was such a torture and so much bliss all at the same time.

Only barely he made it back into Matoba’s room, where he immediately pulled his hand free again.

“Seiji! This is going way too far!” Natsume hissed.

“Oh? So you already got used to calling me by my first name, why not continue, Takashi?”

Helplessly Natsume opened and closed his mouth.

“You think my feelings are a joke? You know how I feel about you and still you insist on making me play this farce!”

Matoba leaned against the wall, with his hands hidden inside the sleeves of his kimono. While he was still smiling, it didn’t seem like he was mocking the other.

“I don’t think this is a joke. It’s quite essential to convince my sister, especially now that she mentioned Reiko.”

Natsume pressed his lips shut. He had not expected Shinobu to already know about her. It was very likely that she knew, who he really was.

“Don’t worry. I will protect you from her.” There was an unusual softness in Matoba’s voice and when Natsume glanced at him again, he was taken aback by the expression he found on his face.

Matoba removed the eyepatch and now he was giving Natsume such a tender look, it made him so nervous, he had to cast his eyes downwards.

“You know Takashi, there is also something positive about this situation. Maybe I even get used to having you this close.”

Natsume’s heart skipped a beat and he stared at Matoba unbelievingly. Should he dare to hope? Maybe it wasn’t all just a game?

Matoba pushed himself away from the wall.

“Anyways, we should be even more careful from now on, she might follow us.”

“Could she really not have sealed Nyanko-sensei?”

“I don’t think so. Madara might be careless sometimes, but he is not stupid. Shinobu is skilled, but even I was only able to give Madara a light bruise. But sealing? No, that’s on another level.”

Natsume became pensive again.

“You say you wouldn’t be able to seal him…but you are the strongest exorcist I know. So who could be even stronger than you?”

“The even better question is, who sealed Madara in the first place, before you first met? Has he ever told you?”

Natsume shook his head.

“No, I have no idea. I never asked him about it.”

“From what I know, a yokai only gets permanently sealed like this, if they have done something really terrible.”

“What?” Natsume was perplexed.

“Why seal him in such an open place and not exorcise him? If he’d been dangerous that would certainly have been the most likely choice for an exorcist.”

“He never did anything bad!!” Natsume balled his hands into fists, while Matoba made a gesture with his hand in order to appease him.

“I never said he did. It’s just a point to consider. Maybe if we look more into his past, we can find a clue.”

Natsume’s eyes went down on the floor.

“Hm, maybe you are right.”

“Don’t make a face like this. We can ask your yokai friends in the woods, if they know more about his backstory, okay?”

Natsume needed a moment to think about this, but since he didn’t find a better solution he just nodded.

“Okay.”
*

The next day Natsume and Matoba once again returned back to Hitoyoshi. They visited the Fujiwaras first and had lunch together with them, very much to Touko’s delight.

Sometime during their meal, Natsume met Touko’s gaze, while she was refilling vegetables from the pot on the stove. Touko silently glanced over to Matoba, then back to Natsume and then she gave him a hidden thumps-up, paired with the most girly smile Touko had ever produced.

Natsume gasped for air and his face went all red, while he vehemently shook his head. Touko

giggled behind her hand with a knowing look on her face.

When she sat down again and urged Matoba to eat more of the salmon, her expression had already returned to her normal one. However Natsume felt his head burning. For the next minutes he avoided looking at Matoba.

Only when they finally left the house and waved the Fujiwaras goodbye, did Natsume breathe a sigh of relief.

“Now, are we also playing a couple also in front of them?” Matoba teased and Natsume spun around.

“No! Touko just got the wrong impression or whatever! I...,” seeing that it was useless to add anything more, Natsume closed his mouth and simply strode forwards with angry steps towards the woods.

However Matoba reached out and caught his hand, before he was too far gone.

“What?” Natsume almost screamed, when he turned around.

Matoba simply leaned in as if he was about to hug him. Only when he was next to Natsume’s ear, he whispered in a very low voice.

“We are getting followed. It’s two of Shinobu’s shiki.”

Natsume slowly raised his head and peeked over Matoba’s shoulder. Soon he spotted the two yokai in the distance.

“What should we do?”

“Maybe you can ask one of your friends to distract them, while we are talking with the others. If I use my shiki, she will know that we are trying to hide something. If it’s one of your friends, you can make it look as if they attack them just randomly.”

Natsume nodded, but Matoba didn’t let go of him again. Together they walked deeper into the forest.

Chapter Text

Even before they arrived at the little dilapidated shrine within the woods, Chukyuu A and B came running towards them.

“Natsume-dono so nice to see you!”
“See you, see you!”

They bowed politely.

“Nice to see you, too.”

“Natsume-dono, if we may ask, what is the meaning of the two following you?”

“Oh them, you already noticed?”

“They are not hiding very decently, are they?”

“No hiding, no, no.”

Matoba answered then.

“They are send by my sister. She wants to track Natsume. It would be best, if we could get rid of them.”

Chukyuu A leaned to the side and looked around Natsume straight at the yokai in the distance behind a tree.

“That should be no problem. We will send Misuzu.”

Quickly they hastened back to the shrine.

“Hey, since when are you allowed to order my friends around?” Natsume glared at Matoba, who only shrugged innocently.

“I didn’t order anyone. I made a mere suggestion.”

Before Natsume could say anything more a huge dark shadow shot into the air from the shrine and when it dived back down towards the woods an ear-splitting roar echoed through the area.

Next the shadow went straight at the shiki, who were now trying to get away from Misuzu as fast as possible. Apparently Shinobu had not anticipated to get attacked and had only send some low level shiki. They didn’t dare to attack Misuzu and therefore flight was their only option.

Natsume sighed with relief and then went towards the shrine where the rest of the dog’s circle was already waiting for him.

Like usual Hinoe sprung forwards and gave Natsume a tight hug.

“Natsume!! Why do you only visit us so rarely? I missed you soo much!!”

She nuzzled her nose against his hair and while he tried to duck out of the embrace, he could have sworn that he perceived some strange vibes coming from Matoba.

“Sorry, I also missed everyone.”
Finally Natsume escaped Hinoe’s grasp and when he made a step backwards, he had run into Matoba. He slid an arm around his hips from behind and parked his chin on Natsume’s shoulder.

“Careful there.”

Natsume’s throat became dry and while he tried to push Matoba’s arm away, he soon realized he had no strength to do so, because he actually enjoyed this position quite a lot.

“Well whatever,” he sighed and he could practically hear the smirk on Matoba’s face next to him.

Hinoe raised two eyebrows, but chose not to comment.

“So Natsume, you got followed by two shiki. Why are you here then?”

“It’s about Nynanko-sensei once more. While we still haven’t found him, we try to investigate his past. Maybe this can give us a clue. Does anyone of you know, why Snesei got sealed away as a lucky cat all these years ago?”

All of the yokai exchanged glances, in the end Chobihige spoke up.

“I’m sorry. While all of us had some dealings with Madara before he got sealed, we never found out about the circumstances. For a few years even before he got sealed Madara had vanished. None of us had any contact with him anymore. The next thing I know, we found him as a lucky cat inside the shrine. It was the work of a highly skilled exorcist and none of us were able to undo it.”

Natsume thought about it for a while.

“I see. Thank you.”

Suddenly Natsume felt Matoba’s arm, which was still slung around him, give him a light squeeze, as if to comfort him.

The dog’s circle also became silent with concerned expression on their faces.

“It was worth a try. Don’t worry, we will find him. So, tell me, what else has happened while I was gone?”

Matoba let go of Natsume and both of them sat down on the grass and chatted with the yokai for some time, until it was late and they had to say good-bye again.

On their way back they run into Misuzu who was greatly amused.

“I chased them over rivers and mountains. I don’t think they will ever get near you, hehe.”

“Thank you Misuzu for your hard work.”

Natsume patted him on his enormous cheek.

“You are welcome. It was a lot of fun. See you next time.”

And with that Misuzu flew up into the air and was gone.

*

For the night they returned back to the ryokan where they had previously stayed, when they had searched the area for clues regarding Nyanko’s whereabouts.

Soon after they arrived a young woman brought their dinner and over it they discussed how they were going to proceed.

“I really thought that at least one of them would know more about Sensei’s past.”

Natsume poked a little listlessly at the fish on his plate.

“Don’t want to be the spoilsport, but do you think it is possible they lied?”

“Actually yes, I think so, too. But it really doesn’t change a thing. If they don’t want to tell it, I can not make them to. Also if this is something so important that they stay quiet, even if it could help to find Nyanko faster, then it must be something terribly important. Maybe they have promised Nyanko to never tell anyone.”

“I could make them, but I reckon that is out of question?”

Natsume glared at the other.

“You think there is another way to find out something about Nyanko-sensei? Did someone at the Matoba clan maybe mention him in their journals.”

Matoba put the chopsticks aside and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He looked quite lost in thought and Natsume almost held his breath while he waited for his answer.

“It’s not impossible. Although I read each and every volume, that was a long time ago and I don’t remember all the yokai they have mentioned.”

“Then maybe we can go through all of them once more.”

“You want to read all of them? This would take you and me several years.”

“Maybe we can just flip through them?”

Matoba laughed.

“Nah, don’t worry. I have a shiki who can do this for us, much, much faster than reading. It can read the book, without reading it. It only needs to touch it and then it’s like reading someone’s mind. If Madara got mentioned, the shiki will know.”

“Huh? That’s really handy! Where did you find it?”
“It once hunted a library. I didn’t have to fight it really. When I told it, what books it would find at the Matoba estate it came voluntarily.”

“And is it still happy to live at your place?”

Matoba shrugged.

“No idea, you can ask it, when you see it.”

“Hm,” Natsume nodded, then took the first bite from his shredded fish.

*

At night Natsume couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about why his yokai friends were keeping secret from him. Also what kind of secret was Nyanko-sensei trying to bury so badly, that he even made all his acquaintances lie for him? Natsume wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know. Everyone had a secret they rather liked to keep buried in the past. Only this time, it looked so colossal. How had Nyanko-sensei even manage to cover it up until now?

Natsume turned around for the hundredth time and his eyes landed on Matoba’s peaceful face. His breath followed a steady rhythm and for a while Natsume just listened to it, hoping this would soothe his mind. Only it backfired, because it was precisely this time, that his brain provided him with the memory of Matoba’s arm sneaking around his waist and pressing them both together. How would it have felt if there hadn’t been so much clothes between them?

Ahrg!! He slapped his burning hot face and just when he was about to turn around, he heard a voice.

“Is this a habit of yours? Staring at people while they are sleeping?”

Natsume blinked through his fingers and Matoba still looked perfectly asleep. Just when Natsume thought he must have imagined it, did Matoba open his eyes and flashed him a smile.

“No...I, actually...I just couldn’t sleep.”

“Me too,” Matoba got up into a sitting position.

“There is a lot going on.”

“Yeah,” Natsume rolled on his back and stared at the dark ceiling.

“Do you trust me Takashi?”

“Huh?” Natsume’s face tilted towards the other. In the darkness it wasn’t easy to decipher the look on Matoba’s face.

“Yes,” Natsume finally nodded.

“Then will you show me what’s in that bag you always carry around?”

Oh...Natsume swallowed hard.

Then he also got up and for a long time he looked at his hands, buried deep into the fabric of his blanket.

Matoba kept quite.

“You,...you didn’t inspect it, when you had the chance?”

“Hey! You told me not to open it, so of course I didn’t! If I give a promise, I keep it.”

Once again Natsume fell silent. He was torn. Of course by now he trusted Matoba quite a lot, probably even more than Natori, but still...actually showing him the book of friends was on a whole different level.

There were actual lives at stake! He really couldn’t tell how Matoba would react. Still, he couldn’t hide it forever. Especially not if he really, really wanted to get into a close relationship with him. Being honest would be the first step.

With a lengthy sigh, Natsume fished for the bag under his pillow. Next he unzipped it and brought out the book. For some time he gazed at the cover, before he handed it over to Matoba.

“Here, it’s called the book of friends. Maybe you have already heard of it, seeing that it’s quite infamous around yokai. It was created by my grandmother Natsume Reiko.”

Matoba didn’t say a word and simply flipped through the pages.

“She kept the names of many yokai in here, with which she had duelled. I’m not sure if she really knew, what she was doing and how much power this would grant her over so many yokai and ultimately over the entire yokai world.”

Another deep sigh.

“When I found it between what was left of my grandmother’s posessions, I had no idea what this was about. Yokai kept on hunting me, asking back their names. I was so terribly afraid back then. However Nyanko-sensei showed me how to handle it and by now I am really happy to give back their names. I don’t want to keep them, any of them.”

With that Matoba closed the book and handed it back over to Natsume.

“That’s quite the burden your grandmother left you. Just as you say, its power is immeasurable. Exorcist and yokai alike would kill for this. It was a very wise decision that you kept it hidden.”

Natsume nodded.

“You know, there is one more thing. Actually I did make a deal with Nyanko-sensei back then.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”
“He would be my bodyguard until I die. Afterwards the book of friends will go to him.”

Matoba arched an eyebrow.

“And what if there won’t be any pages left then?”

Natsume shrugged.

“I don’t know. But by now, I don’t think it makes a difference for him. There were so many occasions where I could have easily died, but he still took care of me. I’m sure that he would continue to hang around with me, even if there was no book left anymore.”

“Madara is very powerful. Seeing how long he already followed you, you are probably right. It’s really unusual for a yokai to give up power so easily.”

“Just like I said. Sensei is different. He is really special and therefore I won’t believe that he did something terrible in the past. It must all be a misunderstanding.”

Matoba tapped his lips.

“There are always things that one might deem terrible, while others think they are not terrible at all. It’s all connected to your perspective. It won’t do us any good to keep to speculations. I’m sure sooner or later we will find out the truth. And if not, then I hope we at least find Madara.”

“Yeah, I hope so too. he’s already gone for far too long.”

“One more thing, never ever show this book to my sister, ok?”

“Of course! I didn’t plan to!”

“Good,” Matoba then unexpectedly leaned over, studied Natsume’s face for a while, before he raised a hand as if he wanted to touch his cheek. However in the end he only patted Natsume’s head.

“You are wise beyond your age.” Matoba smiled, while their faces were only inches apart.
Natsume felt how his heart sped up and he was thankful that the blush on his cheeks was covered by the night.

He wanted so much to get closer, but then the moment was gone and Matoba leaned backwards, only to lie down and cover himself with his blanket.

“Good night Takashi.”

“Good night...”

Chapter Text

The next day they headed back towards the Matoba mansion early in the morning after breakfast. Matoba once again drove them back in one of the clan’s black cars.

“Hey Takashi, do you also have a driving license?”

“Uhm, yeah, Shigeru thought it might be useful, so he signed me up for it. While I am actually allowed to drive, I haven’t done so in years. Truth be told, by now I’m a bit afraid of it.”

He chuckled lightly and Matoba glanced over for a brief moment.

“You want to switch places?”
“What? No, no, I think you are a great driver!”

“You only say that, so I keep on driving you around, don’t you?”

“No, I mean it! When I sit next to you, I can actually relax for once. There are no yokai after me and no worries. I can appreciate the landscape and I also enjoy, that we don’t have to talk. It’s not an awkward silence, but a pleasant one.”

Matoba looked out on the street for a while, before he nodded.

“I think so, too. You are a very agreeable car passenger.”

“Pfft, how many other passengers did you drive around before me?”

“Well, there was Shuuichi of course.”

Right...him. Natsume’s stomach tightened and he wished he hadn’t asked. He couldn’t fight against the ugly jealousy that came unbidden bubbling up his throat.

Quickly he turned away and focused on the passing fields outside. In the distance he could make out some wild cherry trees which were in full bloom now. It was indeed going to be a promising day of spring.

Not long after they arrived at the large courtyard in front of the mansion, where Matoba stopped the car a little away from the house at the car park.

Natsume unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to open the door, when Matoba put a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait a second.”

Without any prior warning Matoba leaned over. First Natsume thought he was getting a bit closer to discreetly tell him something important, however Matoba’s head was soon right next to his ear. He could feel Matoba’s breath tingling against the skin of his neck and it made all his hairs stand up in anticipation.

Then suddenly Matoba dived down and pressed his lips against Natsume’s throat. Natsume gasped out loud. His whole body turned into stone, he wasn’t even moving a muscle. But underneath boiling lava was running through his veins.

Next Matoba let his tongue slide over the delicate spot before he then started to suck hard.

Natsume’s hands went upwards. He wanted to push him away, but found himself incapable of doing so. In reality he was digging his fingers into Matoba’s arms, urging him not to stop at all.

Soon his head became dizzy and his cheeks were burning, until finally Matoba let go of him.

For a moment he assessed what he had done and approved it with a big smile.

“That should do. If Shinobu asks, we went to a ryokan for some privacy.”

He winked at Natsume and completely ignored the condition he had left him in, when he got out of the car.

Natsume clutched the hem of his hoodie and simply stared down at his knees. It was no use, he had completely lost control over his body and it was showing! Since when were his pants this tight?

Meanwhile Matoba closed the door at the driver’s side and leaned against it with his back. Apparently he was going to wait for Natsume, for however long it would take, until he got back to normal.

Torn between being angry and ecstatic, Natsume decided it would benefit his own situation more to stay cross with Matoba.

How dare he? He was toying with him and exploited his inexperience. Natsume was such an easy target! It just wasn’t fair!

With a thud his head made contact with the plastic of the dashboard and he closed his eyes counting to ten, then twenty. Finally he felt his body getting back into his usual condition and he quickly got out of the car.

Initially he had planned to speed past Matoba, with his cheeks still flushed and his lips pressed into a tight line, however the other was much too cunning and simply intercepted him and grabbed his hand.

Once again Natsume found himself unwilling to let the hand go, so he simply tried to avoid eye contact while they went into the mansion holding hands like a proper couple. And it felt so right!

As if Matoba had seen it coming all along, in the hallway they run into Shinobu.

“Hey, hey dear brother. I was wondering where you two have vanished to?”

Matoba pulled Natsume a little closer, then he gave him the softest look, before he turned back to his sister.

“We needed to get some privacy, just the two of us for once.”

“Is that so?” Shinobu raised a suspicious eyebrow and her eyes roamed over Natsume from top to bottom. It made a shiver run down Natsume’s spine and he looked away, aware of the rosy colour his face must be tinted in. What he didn’t know was that by doing so, he was exposing the dark lovebite on his neck.

“Seiji! Since when are you marking your prey?” Shinobu laughed out loud and Natsume’s hand sprung upwards to cover his neck. His blushing intensified and spread down his neck and was in plain sight for everyone.

“Maybe you should put him on a leash or else someone else might snatch him away. He looks like a little puppy.”

“Thank you for the suggestion. I will consider it, if necessary.”

Natsume meanwhile was dying of embarrassment.

“But it’s good that we just ran into each other Seiji. I am going to depart today. I already emptied my old room and outside my driver is waiting.”

“So did you find what you were looking for?”

Shinobu grinned.

“Who knows. Maybe I found something even better.”

“That’s good. You know you are always welcome here. But I won’t stop you, if you have to leave already.”

“Thanks brother. Take care and maybe see you soon!”

“Take care.”

Matoba bowed and Shinobu passed him while waving.

“Bye, bye Rin!”

“Bye,” Natsume stammered, while still covering one side of his neck.

Just then his head started to race.

What did this mean? With Shinobu gone, there was no need to pretend anymore! Would he have to go back and live inside Shinobu’s old room? Would Matoba stop touching him? Would he himself dare touch Matoba instead? Was there even a chance to begin with?

But before he could wonder even more, a got pulled forwards. Matoba was still holding his hand and now leading him towards his room.

Natsume reckoned that the other must have gotten used to it and had simply forgotten to let go. When they arrived inside the room and the door closed, Natsume pulled his hand free.

“It’s ok. Shinobu is gone, you don’t have to pretend anymore.”

Natsume who felt tears starting to gather at the rim of his eyes quickly busied himself with packing his few belongings into his travelbag.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll move back into the other room.”

“Why should you?”

Natsume stilled his motion for a second, then he very slowly folded a shirt. Before he could store it inside the bag, Matoba put a hand on his shoulder.

“Who told you to move into the other room?”

Natsume shrugged the hand off, quickly wiped his eyes, straightened and glared at the other.

“You asked me to pretend being your lover and so I did. Now I reckon you are going to ask me to stop doing so.”

“I could, but I won’t.” Matoba turned his body towards Natsume and made a step forwards. With this Natsume retreated backwards. They continued until Natsume felt the wall behind him. One more step and there was only an inch left between the two. Natsume wished to simply melt into the stone pressing against his back.

“Takashi, why should I send you away?” Matoba almost whispered while his eyes never looked away from Natsume.

Natsume tried to avoid Matoba’s gaze, but he was too close to focus on anything else.

“You said...you said that there was no hope for my feelings getting returned.”

Matoba leaned forwards and rested his forehead against Natsume’s.

“Oh, how I wish it was true,” he spoke with his eyes closed. With Matoba right in front of his face, Natsume couldn’t see anything clear anymore, but instead he was bathed in Matoba’s scent. He involuntarily inhaled deeply and then replied with a shaky voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Heh,” Matoba chuckled and slightly leaned back, “I mean this.”

Slowly he shortened the distance again, until their lips connected. Matoba pressed his lips very softly on Natsume’s as if he was still asking for permission.

The first second Natsume was too shocked to move, but then his hands reached forwards as if on auto pilot and he hesitantly raised them and put them on Matoba’s hips.

Immediately Matoba reacted to this and slung his arms around Natsume. One hand buried into his hair and the other was resting on the small of his back. The next moment he pulled them flush together. The kiss which had started tender, quickly turned into something more intense. Matoba’s tongue licked over Natsume’s bottom lip and effectively made him open up. Matoba intruding his mouth was at first a very odd feeling, but it didn’t take long for Natsume to get accustomed to it and soon both their tongues were playing with each other. A soft sigh escaped Natsume’s lips. He had dreamed of this for such a long time, but now it became reality it felt a thousand times better than what he had imagined in his wildest dreams. His body turned into a torch and every nerve became high alert. Therefore when one of Matoba’s hands slid under his shirt and made contact with Natsume’s burning skin, he had to break the kiss to gasp for air.

He was trembling. When he looked into Matoba’s eyes, which were filled with a deep, burning desire, Natsume’s knees were going weak and he had to hold on to Matoba for dear life.

Once again Matoba resumed the kiss and Natsume was glad that the wall behind him gave him a little support to remain upright. He didn’t bring much experience with him when it came to kissing, but he hoped his enthusiasm would make up for it a little. Matoba didn’t seem to mind, his own breathing had become ragged.

Natsume allowed his own hands to travel freely over Matoba’s body. It was a shame that Matoba was wearing a kimono right now. It was much harder to slip a hand in there, compared to a simple shirt.

As if sensing Natsume’s struggle, Matoba stopped and leaned away to unfastened the belt around his hips. Soon the kimono fell open, revealing Matoba’s fair white skin underneath.

However Natsume couldn’t appreciate it for a long time. Matoba claimed Natsume’s lips again and Natsume closed his eyes, while enjoying the shared passion. His hands now easily found their way on Matoba’s chest. His muscles were firm and well defined. Although Natsume’s fingertips weren’t cold at all, it was nothing compared to the heat which came radiating from Matoba. Natsume let a hand slide over the other’s skin and felt Matoba shiver. Before Natsume could celebrate this small victory of making Matoba feel good, the other growled and with one swift motion he slung Natsume over his shoulders and carried him to the futon, where he carefully put him down again. Natsume was about to protest, but then Matoba shrugged his kimono from his shoulders. The sight left Natsume speechless. Matoba was just so beautiful it was otherworldly. Natsume meant to admire the other a little longer, however Matoba joined him on the futon and started to help Natsume remove the hoodie and his shirt. Maybe he should have felt at least a little shy about undressing in front of Matoba, but Natsume found that he just didn’t. He was very much looking forward to any intimacy Matoba would allow to share with him.

Matoba positioned himself above Natsume, holding himself up with both arms. His eyes blazing with desire, it made Natsume swallow down a lump in his throat.

“Is this ok?” Matoba asked, his voice husky.

Natsume was sure that his own voice would fail him, therefore he simply nodded and reached out to caress Matoba’s back.

Matoba in return leaned down and his lips began to explore every inch of Natsume’s body. First he kissed along his collarbone and stopped at the love-bite, which he caressed with his tongue. Natsume felt very close to losing his mind. How was it possible that one man could make him feel like this? His body was defenceless against Matoba’s caresses. He let his head fall backwards and pressed his body closer to Matoba’s, craving the contact. A moan escaped his lips and it seemed to encourage the other to become even more daring in his actions. He licked tentatively over Natsume’s hard nipple, which made him shiver all over.

At the same time Natsume allowed his own hands to stroke up and down Matoba’s bare back while inhaling deeply the others scent. Natsume was wondering it his fingertips on Matoba’s skin was making him feel just as good and when he dared to go lower, Matoba’s body shuddered.

It was simply addicting.

Matoba pushed himself upwards again to claim Natsume’s lips and their kisses became more messy and urgently.

Natsume wasn’t afraid where this might lead them to. By now he was very much aware of his own arousal, as well as of Matoba’s which was pressing against his leg.

It was a bit embarrassing, but since he was lacking the experience he had done some research in the last weeks. Luckily Matoba now took the lead and Natsume trusted him. He felt very comfortable and his worries about doing something wrong were soon replaced by a boldness he had never felt before which was driven by the way Matoba was reacting to every touch and every kiss they shared.

When Matoba’s hand reached down below Natsume’s waistband, he wasn’t the least bit shy. Instead he allowed another moan to escape his lips and he lifted his hips to encourage Matoba even further. The warm hand against his arousal made Natsume light-headed. Even in his wildest dreams he wouldn’t have believed it to feel this intense. Therefore when he came after just a few strokes from Matoba’s hand, it almost made Natsume see stars. He bit down hard on his lips, while burying his hands in Matoba’s black hair and holding him close, panting heavily.

For a while the air was filled with both of them catching their breaths, until Natsume finally let go of the other. Matoba propped himself up on his elbow and swiped a stray hair out of Natsume’s face. His look was tender.

Only now Natsume realized what just had happened and he was about to cover his burning face with his hands.

“Don’t.” Matoba ordered and Natsume stopped dead.

“You are beautiful like this. Let me enjoy it just a little longer.”

“But I...I…,” Natsume didn’t know what he wanted to say.

“You are perfect.” Matoba kissed Natsume’s forehead.

“But what about you?” Natsume asked with his voice hoarse and his eyes indicating downwards.

Matoba chuckled.

“Me? Well, I thought we are only getting started, the night is still young.”

Natsume wanted to punch him, but instead he just hugged him tightly.

Chapter Text

The following days passed in a haze. Natsume still couldn’t believe what had happened between them and that apparently Matoba was actually returning his feelings. He wondered if they were now officially a couple or if it had just been a once in a lifetime thing.

Although they were still sharing a futon every night, nothing more had happened ever since, except for a few stolen kisses here and there. Maybe Matoba wanted to give Natsume some time to reconsider or maybe it was on Natsume to initiate the next step. He had never before been in a relationship, therefore it was hard for Natsume to figure out how this was supposed to go.

Just when Natsume was practising haphazardly a new spell in the library, while Matoba was on a mission, there was suddenly a small piece of paper floating towards him.

Taken by surprise Natsume’s first instinct was to swat it away, but he figured it might be a message coming from Natori. He was the only one able to use paper magic in such a skilled way.

Natsume caught the note in the air and unfolded it. His eyes went wide, when he saw that it actually came from Shinobu.

“Dear Natsume,

please don’t burn the letter yet! I knew who you are from the first day we met. How did I know? I’ll gladly tell you that in person. Also I learned a thing or two about Madara’s whereabouts.

If you are interested come and meet me. You are herby invited, but don’t tell my brother. He would never let you go, as you might already be aware of. So from one author to the other, let’s have some interesting discussion.

Lots of love,

Shinobu”

Natsume read the letter twice before he lowered the hand holding it back on the table. This didn’t seem like a very good idea. Matoba had warned him to keep away from her, but in the end, what could she possible do to him? Natsume wasn’t a yokai she could catch and store within a vase. She might try to blackmail him or get her hands on the book of friends, but apart from that, how dangerous could it be to meet with her?

Natsume tapped his fingers on the wooden surface, while he still held the paper tight in his other hand. What could she have possibly found out about Sensei? Was it in the end her, who had captured him?

Right now Matoba’s and Natsume’s search had turned into a dead-end. They had asked the yokai living in the library of the mansion, if Madara got mentioned within the journals, but it turned out, that Madara seemed to have had no dealings at all with the Matoba before.

Therefore, if there was anyone, who could provide new information, Natsume needed to know!

There was a phone number written at the corner of the note. Natsume took out his phone and saved it in his contacts. Next he typed a message, but deleted it again. This kept on for several minutes, until Natsume finally hit the send button.

“When and where can we meet?”

As expected the reply followed suit. Shinobu gave him the address of a café and a date and time. She wanted to see him already tomorrow!

Natsume knew, that Matoba would be at work during that time, so he wouldn’t have to find a cover for what he was doing. Although with a bad premonition, Natsume confirmed the date to Shinobu and put the device away. His heart was hammering inside his chest. Clearly he was about to do something extremely stupid and he had no idea how he was supposed to keep it a secret. Usually he was brilliant at telling lies, but with Matoba it was different. Something inside him wanted to always be honest with him. Just for once in his life, he wanted someone with whom he could share everything, the good and the bad things.

Therefore since he wanted Matoba to remain oblivious towards his secret meeting, he simply threw himself into his own work. He excused himself during dinner, telling Matoba that he had a deadline for his most recent book and needed some time for himself. Without questioning it any further, Matoba gave him all the free space he needed. It positively made Natsume feel even worse about what he was about to do, especially when he spent the night alone in Shinobu’s old room.

*

When Natsume entered the café the next day it very much looked like an ordinary one. He hadn’t expected that Shinobu wanted to meet him at such an exposed place. The café seemed to be quite popular as well, almost every table was occupied with people young and old.

This already made Natsume breathe a little lighter and when he saw Shinobu waving at him from a table at the end of the room, he quickly headed over. Another plus was, that she hadn’t brought any shiki with her. At least none Natsume could see.

“Nastumeee! I’m over here!”

Shinobu was wearing her usual form-fitting suit and many girls from the other tables were sneaking glances towards her.

“Somehow I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Natsume furrowed his brows, while he took a seat opposite her.

“Why shouldn’t I? I agreed to it.”

“Who knows? My brother could have locked you up. But since you are here, you must be a good liar.”

Natsume grimaced. This wasn’t a compliment.

“So, what do you know about Nyank….Madara?”

She waved her hand.

“Straight to the topic? Let’s first order! Otherwise you might lose you appetite.”

She gave Natsume a mysterious look and his stomach twisted.

Before he could ask anything further a pretty waitress came over and smiled at them.

Shinobu ordered a brandied cherry tart with a cappuccino and Natsume took a simple black tea.

While they waited for the order, Shinobu spoke up again.

“You know, I read all your books. They are really good. The stories in there are based on Reiko’s experience aren’t they?”

She folded her hands and put her chin on them. The way she asked it, made Natsume shudder. If she already knew that much, Natsume was probably in trouble.

“How do you know about my grandmother and how do you even know who I am?”
Shinobu laughed and leaned back again.

“You and my brother must think I’m stupid! Reiko is one of the most well known people around here and especially for the yokai. Almost every yokai knows her name. Therefore my shiki already told me all about her, what I needed to know. And back then, when I sent a pair to follow you around, they once again confirmed, that you look almost the same. It wasn’t so hard to put one and one together.”

Natsume wrung his hands under the table. Did the yokai also tell her about the book of friends? As if sensing his question, Shinobu promptly answered.

“I also know what secret you are carrying around, but I didn’t come here today because of the book.”

Natsume’s eyes went wide. By instinct he wanted to run, only that in this precise moment the waitress blocked his way and put the drinks and food on the table.

Shinobu used the momentum, to calm Natsume down again.

“Hey, we are meeting in a public place! How am I supposed to rob you without anyone interfering? I didn’t even bring any yokai! On top, they would hardly be a match for you.”

This was true, but still, Natsume’s whole body was on high alert. Quickly Shinobu changed the topic.

“Do you know the story how humans became able to see yokai?”

Natsume was a little taken aback by the question and thought about it for a moment.

“I heard of it from Matoba. Once yokai and humans had children, who then became the first to be able to communicate between both worlds.”

“Correct!” Shinobu smiled.

“What would you think if I tell you that yokai still have kids with humans?”
Natsume stilled. Even the hand that was reaching out to the handle of his teacup froze in mid-air.

“What?”

“You’ve already seen it, didn’t you? A yokai that is able to transform into a human?”

“Maybe...”

Immediately Nyanko came to his mind and how he had perfectly impersonated not only himself, but also Reiko.

“Maybe, huh? You are a clever boy, you already know, who I’m talking about. Of course it is forbidden for yokai to have a relationship with humans and especially to have children with them. This was decided thousand of years ago by humans and yokai together, after the ability to see yokai got abused by humans over and over. Any idea what could be the punishment for a yokai violating this agreement?”

Natsume didn’t want to follow down her trail of thoughts, but ultimately couldn’t avoid the conclusion.

“They get sealed for eternity if they do?”

Shinobu nodded.

“Right again. Now my final question and it’s ok if you take you time before you answer it. Who do you think would be able to lift such a strong seal from any yokai that got punished this way? The one who established the seal or the one related to the yokai by blood, its descendent so to say?”

Natsume’s throat became dry like sandpaper and the world around him started to spin. He felt sick to the core and his hand went up to his mouth.

It couldn’t be true...it just couldn’t.

Shinobu seemed to greatly enjoy what she was seeing, there was a large grin on her face.

“That’s right Natsume. No one knew the man Reiko had been together with. He appeared one day and vanished one day, leaving her behind as a single mother. And how could they, when he wasn’t a man at all. You understand it, don’t you? Madara and Reiko had been in love. He is actually your grandfather.”

A lightning struck through Natsume’s body and his hands were trembling.

Reiko and Nyanko had been lovers? His mother therefore a half-yokai? And where would this put him?

Natsume’s brain almost exploded, when he went through all his memories at once, to find proof against this theory. But he came up with none. Instead everything he had experienced together with Nynanko-sensei was strongly reinforcing this truth.

Probably this even was the one true reason why Nyanko was so keen on getting the book of friends. It had nothing to do with the names inside, but with it reminding him of his one true love. In addition when he learned who Natsume was back then, his grandchild, who almost looked like Reiko, it was too good a chance to pass and therefore he stayed by his side and had his only relative close.

Natsume shook his head. Why had Nyanko never told him?

Shinobu eyed him with interest.

“You probably wonder, why Madara never told you?”

“Yeah,” Natsume looked up, only now realizing that Shinobu was still there with him.

“For your protection of course. Giving shelter to a yokai, who broke the law, would have put you into a difficult situation. Also how do you think you would have reacted to such knowledge? After all, he was the one making Reiko a single mother. Because of his foolishness he got sealed and she had to bring up a child all on her own. In addition the child was not accepted by humans nor by yokai. Reiko knew her daughter would suffer the same fate as herself or even worse. An outcast. That’s why she was send to live with the Matoba’s after Reiko’s death.”

“Then, do you know how did Reiko actually die?” This was a topic all his relatives had never been able to clarify. Natsume wanted to know this so badly.

“A broken heart.”

Natsume gasped. It sounded right and wrong at the same time. Reiko had been a strong woman. Natsume would never have expected her to give up and simply leave her child behind. But then again…how much did Natsume know about love? Nothing. Could he bear to get parted from Matoba for all eternity?

His hands fell listlessly back into his lap.

Oh, how he wished to be able to speak to Nynako-sensei. Right now his world was turned upside down and Natsume’s head began to hurt.

“I understand if this is a lot to stomach. But I thought you have the right to know the truth. I don’t think my brother would have told you.”

“He knew?”

Shinobu simply shrugged.

“My brother knows many things.”

This was the final straw. Natsume got up from his seat on unsteady legs.

“Thank you Shinobu for telling me. I think...I think I should go now.”

“Of course, I’m sorry, this is probably a real shock to you.”

Although he knew that he acted impolite, he already turned and left, ignoring Shinobu even while she was still talking to him.

The fresh air outside the café helped Natsume to clear the fog in his mind a little. Behind him Shinobu had followed and Natsume heard the door of the café fall into the lock again.

“Let’s walk a bit together,” Shinobu suggested and Natsume had not the strength left to object, although he wanted nothing more than to be alone. For a while they walked silently next to each other, until Shinobu started to rummage inside a large bag that was slung over her shoulder.

“Where did I put it?”

Natsume wasn’t really paying attention to her, his mind still in turmoil.

“Ah there! Natsume, can you please hold this for me?”

Without looking Natsume held out a hand, only when he felt a smooth surface making contact with his skin did his eyes widen in shock. However it wasn’t enough time to prevent the things from happening.

The moment his fingers made contact with the empty jar his entire body got sucked in. One second Natsume had walked next to Shinobu and the next he was confined to a jar just a bit larger than his hand.

No!

Terrified his head went left and right. It dawned on Natsume what had just happened. With his fists he hammered against the glass.

“Shinobu!! What is this all about, get me out of here!!”

The last time Natsume had been sucked into a glass, it hadn’t been a particularly pleasant experience. He still remembered it very clearly, how inside it he had never felt tired or hungry and it was only thanks to his friends and Nyanko-sensei that he had been freed after only a few hours.

Shinobu held up the container in her hand and turned the it left and right, while admiring her most recent catch.

Natsume stared at her incredulously.

“You brought me here only to trap me? Was everything you told me a lie then?”

Shinobu giggled.

“Not at all, the things I told you are precisely the reason why it makes you such a precious collectible. A direct descendant of a daiyokai. Part yokai, part human. No wonder my brother kept you close. Your spiritual powers must be astonishing.”

“Shinobu this isn’t funny! I’m human! You can not collect me like any other yokai!”

Well, actually Natsume felt that no yokai either should be treated like this, but he knew Shinobu had a different stance.

“Oh, I think I can! I already did!” Her smile became even brighter and then Natsume got stuffed back into her bag. All his screams of protest effectively muted and everything around him turned dark.

“Damn it!!” Natsume kicked the glass, but it hurt his foot more than it did anything to the glass. With a huff he let himself fall to the ground and pulled his knees up, so that he could bury his head between them, while cursing his own stupidity.

Chapter Text

After what felt like an eternity the bag was finally opened and Natsume shielded his eyes with his hands from the light that came down like a spotlight. He had sat in the darkness waiting for so long.

The next thing he saw, when he peeked through his fingers a bit was a spacious and modern room with a large shelf which Shinobu was approaching with Natsume’s glass in her hand.

The shelf wasn’t as full or as tall as the ones at the Takagi estate, but it still held a vast amount of containers, which were filled with captured yokai. Natsume could easily feel their presence.

Very soon Natsume would become one of them. Shinobu held up the glass and Natsume gave her his most threatening look.

“You won’t get away with this. My friends and family will come looking for me!”

“Let them come, I have enough shiki here to keep them far, far away.”

“What do you even want with me? Simply looking at me can’t be that entertaining?”

“You think not? You are quite handsome, my brother has a good eye for beauties. Let’s see, when I’m staring to get bored.”

With this she put the glass on the shelf at eye-level. Next to Natsume was a clay pot and a blue vase.

“Also, since you have the book of friends, yokai will come looking for you. I will gladly add them to my collection. What a deal!”

One last time Natsume slammed his fists against the glass.

“Shinobu!! Don’t be ridiculous! Let me out!!!”

But Shinobu just waved at him with a smile, then she rounded the corner and was gone. With eyes wide open Natsume stared after her for a very long time, before his knees gave way and he fell to the ground.

“This can’t be happening...it must be a nightmare.”

With one hand he pinched his arm hard, but although the pain shot through his body, he remained locked inside a jar, atop a bookshelf.

He let his head fall backwards against the cool surface and closed his eyes. Wondering if what Shinobu had told him at the café was actually the truth. His heart didn’t want to think further about it.

He should have never met with Shinobu all by himself. He had greatly underestimated her. If the yokai searching for their names showed up at Shinobu’s doorstep, she had indeed a free delivery of new specimens for her shelf. And it was all entirely Natsume’s fault.

“Ugh, what a mess!” Natsume let a hand run through his hair and his eyes wandered over his surroundings. Left and right his view was obscured, but he could look quite far into the room from up here. He could see a leather couch with a small table to his left, probably with an inbuilt kitchen behind the couch, it was hard to tell. And to his right was a large window. He couldn’t see the horizon, nor other buildings, therefore he assumed that this must be a single house, surrounded by a garden. The Matobas had many large Japanese houses, so this didn't come as a surprise. At the far end of the room was a door, which most likely led to a corridor.

Every now and then Shinobu passed along the couch and went into the kitchen behind it. Natsume couldn’t see what she was doing there and he soon lost interest in watching her.

Suddenly it struck him how quiet the house was. He didn’t hear any voices of the yokai next to him. It was an entirely different scene from the one at the Takagi mansion, where all the yokai were screaming in terror, asking for their freedom. Was it maybe because Takagi had captured the yokai without striking a deal? Maybe the shiki Shinobu owned were here out of their own free will?

Natsume shook his head. If not even he himself was here by choice, why should she treat yokai any better?

“Hello, can anyone hear me?” Natsume tried to reach out to whoever was willing to talk to him, but there was no answer.

“My name is Nastume Takashi, I’m a human and I was also captured by Shinobu. Is anyone else here?”

Silence again.

With a huff Natsume let himself fall backwards until he lay flat down. Above him was just the aluminium lid. How was he supposed to not lose his sanity when there was absolutely nothing to do for him in here? He closed his eyes and thought about happier times, back at the Fujiwaras.

*

Soon evening came and Natsume listened to whatever Shinobu was watching on TV. He heard that tomorrow was supposed to be a wonderful day for a cherry blossom picnic in the park. So they were in Tokyo? He strained his ears even more, but Shinobu had already switched the channel and was now viewing a soap opera.

At first he was annoyed by it, but when the night fell over the room and Shinobu retired into her bedroom, the all encompassing darkness paired with a deathly silence was too much to bear. Natsume wished back for the shallow dialogues of whatever soap opera to help him dispel the loudness of his own thoughts.

“Someone...anyone, please get me out of here.”

*

The next day Natsume watched Shinobu having breakfast, then she went over to a desk, which Natsume couldn’t see and while music played in the background he heard her typing on a keyboard. Most likely she was working on a new book, seeing that she was an author herself. For the background music he was thankful, but when he thought about the prospect of spending the rest of his life like this, he would have rather liked to drop dead this instant. How any of the yokai next to him were able to make it through this torture was beyond him. No one deserved to be locked up like this. A yokai, if captured, should lead a life just like the ones at the exorcist in the woods. She was giving all her yokai a home, a family. But this...this was just cruel.

In the afternoon Natsume saw how Shinobu was packing her things, apparently about to leave the house. Before she made it to the door, Natsume screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Hey!! Don’t leave me here like this!!”

Shinobu turned and approached the board.

“How are you doing little Natsume?”

“I think I’m going to kill you, if I ever get out of here.”

She giggled.

“I’m shivering. I don’t think you’ll ever make it out on your own, just like all the other yokai on my shelf.”

He glowered at her, knowing full well, that she had all the power she needed over him.

“Can you at least leave the music playing?”

“That would be possible.” She headed over to the couch, grabbed a remote and pressed a button. Some random radio station filled the air with two hosts moderating a show.

“See you later!” Shinobu waved, before the door to the corridor closed behind her. Natsume started to hate her with a new found passion.

While Shinobu was gone Natsume tried to persuade the other yokai to speak with him, but without much success. He tried to climb the jar and open the lid, but soon he had to admit the task was impossible. In a fit of anger, he punched the glass several times, until his knuckles were almost bleeding. When he had no strength anymore, he lay down again and listened to the music. After some time he managed to relax and even hummed along the song.

If only someone would come and rescue him.

After several hours Shinobu showed up again, carrying some grocery bags. Natsume had a mind to call her, but he didn’t know what to say anymore, so he simply continued to give her his most intimidating look.

While Shinobu was sorting through her purchases, suddenly the doorbell rang. Natsume immediately jumped to his feet, hoping someone had come for him.

Shinobu looked up, then a shiki appeared out of thin air and whispered something into her ear.

“Shit, didn’t expect him to come here this early.”

Natsume’s heart started to race. Was it Seiji?
The shiki vanished again and Shinobu walked over to the shelf and grabbed Natsume and his glass.

“Just a second, I need to deal with someone.”

She removed a floorboard and put the jar into the small space below.

“You can scream as much as you like, I seal this with a spell. No one is going to hear you.”

“Shinobu!!”

But then the board was replaced and the place was covered in darkness. Below the floor Natsume could still hear the steps from above. He strained his ears to listen. For some time nothing happened, then footsteps again and Shinobu’s voice.

“I didn’t expect you to show up this late. You almost never visit me. What can I do for you?”

“Where is Natsume?”

Seiji!! So it was Seiji who had come for him! Seiji knew that Shinobu had taken him and he came to free him!

Natsume was overjoyed and he couldn’t help but start to scream at the top of his lungs.

“Seiji!! Seiji!! I’m down here!! She locked me into a jar!!”

From above the conversation continued.

“I don’t know about a Natsume.”

“You know damn well whom I’m talking about.”

“No idea.”

“Don’t play dumb! You knew from the start, who he really was. I know you’ve captured him. One of my shiki told me.”

“If that is your proof, feel free to search the house.”

While Natsume was still pressing his ear against the glass, there was suddenly movement in the darkness next to him. Since Natsume’s eyes had started to adjust to it, he now saw, that a shadow with two large eyes was next to his glass, looking at him.

Natsume jumped from shock, fell backwards and landed on his butt.

“Whoa!! Where did you come from?”

The yokai produced a finger and pointed upwards.

“Seiji send you? That's great!” Relief flooded Natsume, however, when he saw the yokai was about to open the jar, he suddenly stopped it.

“Wait! There isn’t enough space in here for me. Can you maybe move me away from this place and into a room?”

The yokai thought about it and then nodded. Without further ado it tilted the glass and started rolling it.

Not having seen this coming Natsume quickly began to move with the jar like a hamster in a wheel in order not to roll around and get hurt.

Luckily it didn’t take long and the shadow pushed away another floorboard and lifted the jar up into the open. Natsume surveyed their surroundings and saw, that they were inside a different room. There was no one there, so it was safe for Natsume to finally get out.

“All right. You can now open the lid.”

The yokai did as it was told and Natsume felt his body growing back to the normal size again. Immediately he felt all sorts of things at the same time. He was tired, hungry and completely overwhelmed. It took some time, before he was confident enough to walk. The shadow like yokai watched him.

“Thank you.” Natsume gave the yokai a smile and although it was covered in darkness, except for the eyes, Natsume could have sworn to have seen it blush.

“Ok, I think it’s time to get the hell out of here.”

The yokai nodded and then it slithered towards Natsume, who was too stunned to move. The next moment, he had a shadow lizard on his arm, much like the one on Natori’s body. First he wanted to protest, but seeing that they were still in danger, he just shrugged.

“Let’s go.”

Natsume told the yokai and opened the door towards the corridor and peeked outside. It looked deserted and therefore Natsume quickly stepped out. However the next moment several shiki appeared out of nowhere.

“Damn!” Natsume cursed and started running. This was what he was best at, so he managed to keep the shiki at bay. However he didn’t know the way and got chased through the house until he ended up running straight into Shinobu and Matoba.

The moment Natsume saw Matoba, he wanted nothing more than to throw himself into his arms, but he held himself back.

“Seiji!!”

“Takashi, are you ok?”

Natsume felt tears at the corner of his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away.

“Much better, now that you are here.”

“Good,” Matoba ruffled Natsume’s hair, before he turned back to his sister, his expression now deadly.

He ripped the fake eye-patch from his face and his eyes were almost glowing red.

“I think you took something, that belongs to me!”

Shinobu scoffed.

“Oh, he cured you and removed the curse? Did it make you grow a heart at last? He’s not much different from any other yokai I am keeping inside my shelves. You keep hundredth of yokai locked up inside your own house, so don’t be a hypocrite!”

“He is human!”

“And he is also yokai! Madara is his god-damn godfather! He’s more yokai than anything, a freak! If you care so much about yokai at last, why not free all of them now?” Shinobu gestured to the locked up shiki behind her on the shelf.

It was hard to tell for Natsume if Matoba was shocked by this revelation or not.

“I do care about them. Takashi showed me that there is more than simple black and white. And I don’t care who his grandfather is. Even if it was Buddha himself, who cares! He is who he is! But for today I will only take Takashi with me and you will certainly not stop me.”

Natsume raised both his eyebrows. Matoba could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to.

“You can’t take him!”

With this Shinobu made a gestured towards the shiki and ordered them to attack Matoba and Natsume. All the shiki, even the ones that had still been stored on the shelf were now coming forward and inching closer with every second.

Matoba laughed and it send a shiver down Natsume’s spine.

“I’d like to see you try. Come Takashi.”

While Natsume still wondered how Matoba wanted to stop the mob of approaching shiki, suddenly the shadow on Natsume’s arm detached itself again and transformed into a giant shadow, that stretched from one end of the room to the other, effectively blocking them from Shinobu and her entourage.

“They can not pass through it,” Matoba explained and put an arm around Natsume’s shoulder while leading him outside.

“But can we leave it behind?”

“Don’t worry, it will come back as soon as we are safe. Nothing in the world can harm it.”

“Then it must be pretty strong.”

“The strongest I got.”

“What about Shinobu?”

“Don’t think about her. She will never ever be able to put a finger on you again.”

With this Matoba pulled Natsume even closer and both of them left the building together and went back to Matoba’s mansion, where Natsume fell asleep after eating several portions of food.

Chapter Text

Natsume slept for an entire day and when he woke up, he wolfed down his breakfast before he even remotely felt strong enough to speak about what had happened.

Soon he sat together with Matoba at the low table inside his room with fresh tea and some snacks.

Although the silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable at all, Natsume wondered why Matoba wasn’t asking him anything.

However, when Natsume opened his mouth, Matoba held up a hand.

“You don’t have to tell me the whole story, if you don’t want to or aren’t feeling ready for it. I can hardly imagine how horrible it must have been to be locked up in a jar for such a long time.”
His expression became dark.

“My sister or not, if I ever see her again, she will suffer for this.”

Natsume couldn’t say he wasn’t feeling the same about this, however he didn’t want Matoba to do a any sort of crime in his name.

“Just leave her be. She isn’t worth our attention. There are more important things we need to take care of.”

“Right.” Matoba schooled his expression, but a hint of anger was still clinging to it.

“Shinobu told me something...actually that was the reason why I met her in the first place. She also mentioned it, when you were rescuing me.”

“About Madara being your grandfather?”
“Right.”

“I thought she had made it up.”

Natsume shook his head.

“Not quite. It’s about Nyanko and Reiko, so ultimately it is also about me.”

Matoba waited for him to continue. Natsume toyed with the empty cup of tea in his hand.

“She said that Reiko and Nyanko, no Madara, they’ve been secretly in love and the result of this love was my mother.”

For the first time Matoba looked alarmed.

“She said it wasn’t allowed for yokai and humans to have children and therefore Madara got sealed….until...until I lifted that spell, seeing that I’m his grandson.”

“You’re joking?”

“I wish it was a joke, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Sensei once transformed into me and also into Reiko. He was able to turn into a flawless human. I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all. Also he wants the book of friends, but he doesn’t care about its power. He simply wants the book, because he is fond of it. It makes sense, seeing that it belonged to Reiko. It’s the only thing left of her.”

Matoba let everything sink in, before he replied.

“Then your mother was half-yokai. That was probably the reason she was sent to the Matobas. Reiko wanted us to protect her.”

Natsume nodded.

“I guess.”

“Hmm, and your yokai friends in the woods...they probably also knew all along, but they kept silent about it. They didn’t want to bring you or Madara into a difficult situation.”

“Everyone knew...except me. While it makes me a little sad, I’m also relived to finally know the truth.”

Matoba affectionately ruffled Natsume’s hair.
“Well, but I think this makes searching for the last exorcist a lot easier.”

“Yeah?”

“I once heard about some secret union, who are claiming to keep true to an ancient contract between yokai and men. I never met any of them and I’m not sure about what they are really doing. But from what you just told me, it could be that they are acting like some kind of police. If a yokai or a human did something that went against their rules, they would hold them liable. Maybe they simply sealed Madara again, seeing that he got accidentally freed. And maybe they are also already searching for you, since you are one of Madara’s descendants.”

Natsume put his hand against his chin.

“You might be right. I wonder how strict they are with their rules and if it’s even remotely possible to ask them to return Nyanko-sensei.”

“Don’t worry about that just now. First we need to find them. They are not a secret organization without reason.”

It was hard for Natsume to sit still, when they were this close to figuring out where Nynako-sensei could be.

“And what about the book of friends? You think they also already know about it?”

Matoba shifted his weight from one side to the other.

“They seem quite capable. It’s realistic that they do know, but since they didn’t stop you up until now, it must be fine with them.”

Natsume nodded and reached out for the cup of tea in front of him, only to find it empty and he frowned.

“Shinobu said that you’ve already known all this, about me and Madara. Is it true?”

Matoba sighed and leaned forwards. His hand went over the table and he grabbed Natsume’s.

“I didn’t. I have no idea where she found out, but if I had known, I wouldn’t have kept it a secret. What would I gain with such a knowledge?”

“Sorry,” Natsume’s face blushed a little. He should never have doubted Matoba. The other patted Natsume’s hand.

“Don’t worry. I have lots of experience with how Shinobu can be. She knows how to use words or otherwise she wouldn’t be such a successful author.”

“But I’m an author, too, but I wasn’t able to look through any of her foul play.”

Matoba chuckled.

“You are just too pure. The evil streak runs in our family, though I don’t intend to use it against you, ever.”

“I hope so.” Natsume retreated his hand and crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting just a little. Matoba immediately scooted over and put his arms around his shoulders, rubbing his head against Natsume.

“I rescued you, isn’t that worth something?”

Against his better judgement Natsume let his arms fall down and leaned into the embrace. Having Matoba acting so lovingly was still kind of like a dream. He closed his eyes.

“What...what am I to you? Are we even dating yet?”

Matoba buried his nose into Natsume’s soft hair and inhaled deeply. It made Natsume shiver.

“You are a gift from heaven, my one true soulmate and as far as I am concerned I hope we are already past the dating and a couple for life.”

Natsume’s ear started to burn. He hadn’t expected Matoba to put it like this. Natsume’s hands reached out and he put them on Matoba’s arms.

“I love you Seiji.”

Matoba placed a soft kiss on Natsume’s cheek.

“I love you too.”

Their eyes met and this time it was Natsume who closed the distance between them and started to kiss the other.

However before they could deepen the kiss, there was suddenly a knock at the door. With a frown Matoba leaned back, but his arms remained around Natsume.

“Yes?”

A shiki entered right through the door and it held out an envelope towards Matoba, who took it from the yokai. Afterwards the shiki vanished into thin air again.

“What is it?”

“No idea, but it’s for you.”

Matoba handed the paper over to Natsume who took a long look at the words written on it. There was his name and Matoba’s address, just as if he was really a permanent resident here.

A sender was missing.

“Is it safe to open it?”

After everything that had happened, Natsume didn’t trust anything anymore. For all he knew, the envelope could easily trap him again.

“It’s ok. Otherwise the shiki would have warned us.”

“Hm, if you say so.”

Natsume tore it open and then removed a card from within. There wasn’t much on it and it confused Natsume even more. He held it out for Matoba to read.

“An invitation?”
“Seems so. Just like you said. This secret society was already looking for me and now since they finally found me, they want me to meet them.”

Natsume’s hand holding the letter fell down in his lap.

“I really don’t want to go.”

Matoba took the card from Natsume and studied the front and back.

“Well at least we don’t need to waste any more time looking for them. We now know where to find them. This is probably also the place where you are going to find Madara. This mustn’t be a bad thing.”

“Yeah, but what if they plan to lock me up, just like Shinobu did? Or maybe they intend to even punish me with something worse!”

“Why should they punish you for freeing Madara? It was an accident. Also you don’t have to go alone. I’m going with you of course.”

Natsume sighed.

“I’m not sure if this will be enough. Clearly they are aware that I’m living with you, however they didn’t extend their invitation. There is nothing written about a plus one.”

Matoba put the piece of paper on the table.

“Don’t worry, even if they won’t let me in, I leave my shiki with you. The one who already got you out of Shinobu’s place.”

This was at least something, but still Natsume had a very bad felling about all this. In the end he still had to admit, that there was no way around it.

“Ok. I go, for Nyanko-sensei.”

*

They ended up in front of a very old shrine in the middle of Tokyo on a hill, but hidden by trees surrounding the area. There were no humans, but several shiki were guarding the place. When Natsume and Matoba approached they let them pass, until they arrived at the entrance to the building.

“This is too easy.”

“We’ve come this far already. Let’s go inside.”

Natsume checked once more that the shadow yokai was still crawling over his arm in his lizard form, before he stepped over the threshold. It gave him a little courage to have this tiny shadow with him.

Nothing unexpected happened and Natsume sighed a breath of relief, however Matoba wasn’t following. Shocked Natsume turned around.

Matoba was pressing his hands against an invisible wall.

“What?!” Natsume sprung forwards and since he expected to be locked in too, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground if not for Matoba catching him.

“Careful, it seems only I can’t enter. You however are free to enter and leave.”

“I don’t want to go without you.”

Matoba patted his head.

“Don’t look like this. Where is your fearless self? As far as I am aware you usually act first and think then.”

Natsume didn’t feel like laughing, but still he cracked a smile. Matoba was right. He had been in situations far worse than this. He could do it!

“Ok, you are right. Well then, see you soon.”

“Take care! In the meantime I’ll try to find a way in.”

Natsume nodded and went inside the shrine. Much to his surprise there was still no human in sight. However an invisible force seemed to lead his way. Every now and then a door magically slid open and Natsume followed without question.

Soon he ended up in front of a door which swung open and revealed a stairway leading down into a cellar.

Natsume marched down the old wooden spiral staircase. The only illumination were several torches on the wall. With every step the air became more stuffy.

Finally the stairs ended in small room that looked like some kind of reception. There was a counter with paper stacks and candles on top and behind it stood a man wearing a black robe. The walls of the room were covered with curtains. It was hard to tell if behind them more tunnels were going to lead even deeper into the unknown.

The man gave Natsume a friendly smile. He had blond hair and was probably around the same age as Natsume.

“Hello there Natsume Takashi. I was waiting for your arrival for such a long time.”

Natsume bowed politely.

Since the other already knew his name, there was no need to introduce himself, therefore he went straight to the point.

“I’m here because I want you to return Nyan...Madara to me.”

The man chuckled.

“Well, we get to that later. First, my name is Ito Sen. I’m the current head of our small association.”

“What kind of association are you really?”

“I think you already know how the first humans received the ability to see yokai?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of it. They were half yokai, half human.”

“Correct. This seemed a good idea at the beginning, until humans became selfish and didn’t respect the yokai anymore. At that time it was decided that both worlds should not mingle anymore and each was supposed to go their separate ways. In order to ensure this, the yokai and humans made a contract. No yokai was allowed to take a human lover and have children. If they ever did, they would be punished and forever sealed away.”

Natsume had already guessed that much.

“However, every now and then a yokai overstepped the line. Therefore a simple contract wasn’t enough. There was a need for someone supervising the rules and actually execute the punishment. So our union was created. We are all descendants from yokai. This way we could ensure to be strong enough to even be able to seal away even the most powerful yokai.”

Natsume raised his eyebrows. Therefore this man was just like him? Maybe he also had never know his father or mother, seeing that they were yokai.

“We keep track of every such incident.”

Ito pulled on a cord and the curtains lifted, giving way to tunnel after tunnel filled with diaries.

“We track the names of the yokai, their children and children’s children, up until today. We usually also monitor each and every child. If they show strong spiritual abilities we are going to recruit them.”

Did they want to recruit him too? Natsume didn’t like the thought one bit.

“Of course we also keep a close eye on the sealed yokai. As you might have guessed, there aren’t as many cases anymore, since the most strong yokai, they don’t even care about humans anymore. But...sometimes, it still happens.”

Ito was giving Natsume a meaningful look.

“Your grandmother gave us quite the headache. She was as slippery as a fish and in the end, much to our shame, we lost sight of her child. The only thing we did manage, was to seal Madara. He didn’t even put up a fight back then. He was well aware of the consequences, but with his last breath he still told us, that it had been worth it.”

This send a lightning through Natsume’s whole body. It had been worth it. That Madara had met Reiko, that they had been in love and ultimately had a child. It had been worth it.

Natsume had to wipe at the corner of his eyes, hiding the unbidden tears.

“Now usually we do check on the yokai we sealed regularly if the seal is still intact. Since a seal can only be broken by the one who had created it or one with the same bloodline, there usually isn’t much to worry. Even with Madara, what were the odds, that you would stumble upon him out of the blue?”

Ito sighed.

“However when I checked upon him at the start of this year, you can imagine how shocked I was to find the seal broken. This has never happened ever before.”

Natsume didn’t feel sorry at all. Actually he thought that sealing away yokai for the only reason, that they had been in love, was rather cruel.

“Initially it had been my father who had sealed Madara away. My father was the son of a wood nymph and a bus driver.”

Ito chuckled.

“He was already a very talented exorcist, but as his son, I even surpassed his abilities. Therefore I became the head of this union.”

Natsume couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You are sealing them away for what? Because they fell in love?? Since when is falling in love considered a crime?”

“Ah, you are right of course. But a contract is a contract. It were the yokai who set it up, craving to get rid of us humans being able to perceive them.”

“But this has been a thousand of years ago! By now everyone must have at least 1% yokai blood. It’s too late to make it stop, why still cling to this?”

Ito weighed his head on his shoulders and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Fair point. But it’s not for us to decide. We are simply the appointed members.”

“Then just stop? What happens, if you just do nothing? You’ll go to yokai jail?”
This made Ito burst out with laughter.

“Probably no jail, no. But we swore to it. Once we became a part, we have to follow along.”

This was way too cryptic for Natsume, so he switched the topic.

“Then what about Madara? Can you let him go? He isn’t dangerous at all. He is not only my grandfather, but also my best friend. I miss him so much. I’m sure he learned his lesson and won’t ever have a child again.”

“My dear Natsume, I wish it was that simple.”

“You just said you are the head of this organization, so why can’t you simply command it? I’m sure your word must be worth a lot.”

“Yeah, but I can’t go against the rules.”

Natsume ruffled his hair.

“There must be a way! Initially humans were meant to become a mediator between the yokai and the human world! This is exactly what I have done all my life and Reiko has done this as well. We love to interact with yokai and humans alike. We always also take the feelings of the yokai into account. We would never dare to hurt them, even if they have hurt us. We care for them. Although this ability has scared me most of my life, I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything else. I got to know so many lovely yokai and many of them have become my closest friends, so why, why would there be a yokai not wanting humans to have this ability? I know there are also bad examples, like some exorcists exploiting their abilities. There are always two sides of a coin. But I think to pass this ability along throughout generations isn’t a bad thing.”

For several heartbeats Ito only looked at Natsume, until he finally sighed.

“Follow me.”

Chapter Text

Ito pulled another cord and a hidden trapdoor on the floor sprung open, that led even deeper under the earth. Ito took a torch from the side and started to descend downwards into the darkness.

Natsume hastened after him to remain near the light of the flame.

After some time the tunnel lead them straight into a dome like hall which was lit by floating, blue will-o’-the wisps. It was a rather beautiful sight, until Natsume recognized the rows full with clay pots large and small. Each of them was labelled with a name and a date.

Natsume held his breath, however although there were thousands of yokai stored in here, he didn’t hear any voices. As if Ito could read his mind, he promptly answered.

“They are sleeping. The seal we use, makes them dream for all eternity.”

If this was kind or cruel, Natsume couldn’t tell.

Ito put the torch into a holder and then went over to one specific pot. He took it in both his hands and carried it over to Natsume.

“Here, this is your Madara.”

With shaking hands Natsume reached out for the it, but Ito pulled it back at the last moment.

“I will hand him over to you, but only if you agree to become one of us.”

“What?”

Natsume’s arms fell back to the side and he shook his head.

“No! I can not do this at all.”

“Then Madara will stay with us forever.”

With a sigh Natsume’s eyes closed and his throat was dry like sandpaper. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with conviction.

“I’m sorry, but Madara wouldn’t want me to agree to such a thing. I hate to give him up, but joyning you is against everything I believe in.”

Ito snorted.

“All the replies you are giving are so heroic. It’s okay. To tell you the truth I didn’t expect you to agree, but I had to ask anyways.”

He then held out the pot to Natsume.

“Here.”

Unsure if this was a trick Natsume didn’t react at first.

“Take it.”

“Uhm,” with shaking hands Natsume reached out, took the pot and held it close to his chest. So this was Nyanko...no Madara, no actually his grandfather.

“I hope you understand that I can not hand him over to you without a price.”

“What is it then?”

“If you want to free Madara and take him with you, there is one thing you must do. You have to ask him to give up some of his power forever. This way he won’t be able to ever transform into a human. This is to make sure, that there won’t be any more descendants. If he agrees, I can make an exception for him and for you.”

“That’s all?” Natsume’s eyes went wide.

“All? There has rarely ever been a yokai who agreed to this. They cling to their power rather desperately. After all, their power is what defines them. But you don’t have to do this either. We will take good care of him here.”
“No! No, I will do it. I will ask him and I’m sure he is going to agree.”

“Don’t be upset, if he doesn’t.”

Natsume shook his head violently.

“He will agree. I know it for sure.”

“Hm, then let’s find out.”

Ito made a magical seal with his fingers, while he whispered an incantation. Natsume simply held on to the clay pot, which after a moment began to tremble.

Afraid it might topple to the ground and hurt Madara, Natsume pressed it even tighter against his body, but the power of the pot’s magic was too strong. It flew into the air, where the pot simply burst into a million pieces and then with an ear-piercing roar and a blinding light Madara appeared in his true dai-yokai form.

Just within a second his claws were around Ito and pressed him to the ground. Madara growled and bared his sharp teeth.

“Human! How dare you to be so insolent and seal me!” His voice boomed through the hall and made the other clay pots tremble.

Although Madara’s paw was almost squishing Ito to pulp, he didn’t look worried at all.

“Nyanko-sensei!!” Natsume screamed out with tears of happiness streaming down his face.

Instantly Madara’s attention left the human on the ground and he turned around.

“Natsume?”

Natsume run forwards and buried his face deep into Madara’s soft fur.

“Nyanko...Nyanko, I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you. I’m so sorry...I missed you so much.”

Madara sighed and his large head leaned against Natsume.

“It wasn’t your fault after all. But then I guess…you found out my secret?”

Natsume sniffed a few times and rubbed his face against Madara’s side.

“I know. But it’s ok that you haven’t told me. I’m not mad or anything. I’m just so happy that you are okay.

“Natsume...”

Ito who had stood up from the ground dusted off his clothes and cleared his throat. Only then did Natsume let go of Madara.

“Sorry to interrupt the family-reunion, but we have some business here as well. Natsume, if you please.”

Madara looked a little puzzled and Natsume hesitated a moment.

“Well...the thing is. They will only let you go under one condition.”

“Yes?”

“You have to give up a part of your power, so that you won’t be able to transform into a human anymore. Will you agree?”

“I’m supposed to do what?”

Madara’s face snapped around and within seconds his teeth were once again threateningly close to Ito’s face.

“Human what kind of foul play it this? I never did any real crime! I never killed anybody and still you dare lock me up for all eternity.”

Ito shrugged.

“Those rules were made by yokai, not human. If you want to blame anyone, then discuss it with your own kind.”

Once again Madara growled and Natsume still held his breath. Had he been wrong? Would Madara rather remain sealed for the rest of his life? Was power really so important to him? Was Natsume asking too much of him?

Suddenly the huge Madara started to shrink until with a plopp he turned back into his maneki-neko form.

“No problem at all. I rather prefer to remain a fat cat and live with Natsume than living inside a clay pot. Take whatever power you need to take from me.”

Natsume felt hot tears once again stream down his cheeks and he picked up Madara and nuzzled his nose against his head.

“Nyanko, thank you.”

“Pfft, don’t thank me. I insist on a 24hour feeding with only the best fish and sake! You will regret bringing me back.”

Natsume chuckled, although it sounded rather clipped.

“I won’t regret it ever.”

Ito now stepped closer and he put a hand on Madara’s round head.

“Then allow me.”

Once again Ito spoke words in a language Natsume didn’t know and something under Ito’s hand started to glow. There was some kind of golden strand that flowed out of Madara into the air and then simply vanished.

“It’s done. You are free to go.”

Ito removed his hand and made a step backwards.

“How do you feel?” Natsume inquired.

Madara shrugged.

“Like before. Now let’s go. I want some food, I’m starving! I haven’t had any decent food in weeks. No, I never had any food at all!! Natsume!! Buy me foooooood!”

“Haha, all right, all right.”

Before Natsume left he turned back to Ito.

“Thank you for this.”

“No, I think I need to thank you. Take care and if you ever change your mind about joining us, you know where to find us.”

Natsume simply smiled and turned around.

*

When Natsume stepped out of the shrine with Madara in his arms, the first thing he saw was Matoba’s worried face, which then instantly became a bright smile.

“You made it!”

Natsume returned the smile.

“Yeah. They made an exception for us.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Both men were beaming at each other until Madara had enough.

“What the hell is HE doing here?!”

“Seiji helped to find you.”

“Well, here I am, he can go now. I don’t like him being around!”

Matoba chuckled and Natsume started to blush.

“Actually, I can’t send him away.”

“Why not? He has always been mean to you and to me!”

Natsume was too embarrassed to explain the situation just now, therefore Matoba took over.

“Takashi and me, we are a couple.”

The shock on Madara’s face was almost comical.

“That’s not funny! Don’t tell such blatant lies, as if Natsume would ever date a mean guy like you!”

Madara crossed his too tiny paws across his chest.

“Nyanko...it’s actually true.”

“WHAT? I’m gone for just a few weeks and here you are betraying my faith! What an ungrateful grandchild you are! Take me back to the clay pot! I don’t want to live with a Matoba!!”

Madara jumped out of Natsume’s arm and on the floor, from where he looked at Matoba and then at Natsume.

“Can I not let you be unsupervised for even a second before you do something stupid! As your grandfather I don’t allow it!”

Madara looked positively enraged.

Matoba got down on his knees.

“Ah, but think about it. Takashi is going to live with me at the Matoba mansion. We only have the most expensive sake and food. You can have treats as much as you like from morning till noon. Do you really not want this?”

“Natsume!!! I am not open for bribery!...Wait...sake? Expensive sake? Really expensive sake?”

Matoba nodded.

“The absolute best.”

Madara hesitated, before he screamed again.

“Take me there right now! I need to test it before I can decide!”

Matoba and Natsume started to laugh out loud. Natsume picked up his cat and held him close.

“Welcome back Nyanko-sensei.”

*

When they arrived at the mansion Matoba stopped before they passed the gate at the entrance. He turned towards Natsume, who was still holding the round cat in his arms.

“I need to invite him to get in.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What??”

Matoba then put a hand on Madara, who struggled vehemently.

“Madara, welcome home. You are allowed to come and go as you please.”

Finally Madara stopped the riot and tried to look up at Matoba’s hand, but the other had already removed it.

“There, that was all.”

Natsume smiled and all three of them entered through the gate.

Of course the first thing they did, was to give Madra tons of food. The yokai didn’t hesitate and started to shovel everything into his tiny mouth until he was very much short from bursting.

“Ahhhh! That was so good! The food here isn’t all too shabby.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you liked it.” Matoba nodded and he himself only took a sip from his tea.

“Wait! Where is your scar gone? What has happened while I was away?” Nyanko hopped a little closer and inspected Matoba’s face.

“Ah, that is a very long story.”

“I have time, tell me!!”

Natsume sighed and Matoba suddenly got up from the floor.

“Please excuse me, I need to take care of something.”

Natsume helplessly watched him go. Of course he knew that Matoba only meant well, but right now, he really wanted him by his side.

“Natsume?”

When Madara spoke up, Natsume’s head snapped upwards again.

“Yeah?”

Madara waddled over and sat down in front of his grandson.

“I am really sorry for not telling you about me and Reiko. You must have many questions and if you want to I am ready to answer them all. Please understand that the pain of losing her, made me avoid the topic. However I want to be honest with you. Since I met you, you gave me a new reason to live, so thank you very much.”

Natsume had no words, he simply reached out and stroked Madara’s head.

“So, about the book of friends. You want it back, because it belonged to her, am I right?”

Although a cat couldn’t actually blush, Natsume could see a pink hue on Madara’s cheeks.

“I never cared about the names at all, but it reminded me of her.”

“Say, why didn’t she want to have your name in this?”

For a moment Madara looked into a faraway distance, before he replied.

“Back then she told me: I already have your heart, what more could I ask for.”

Both of them went silent. Nastume was deeply moved by this statement and it made him immediately think of Matoba. He loved him just as much.

“Ahhh but that is all in the past! Now I’m back and I think we should celebrate this!”

Natsume chuckled.

“Yeah, we should.”

*

Just one day later they threw a big party to celebrate Madara’s return in the forest of Hitoyoshi. The entire dog’s circle was there as well as Natori and his shiki. There was lots of sake and good food. Madara was singing and dancing and most importantly drinking.

For the first time in months Natsume felt that a very heavy weight had finally lifted from his chest and he could breathe freely again. His heart felt light and seeing that Matoba had one arm slung around his shoulder made him even happier.

Natori had also given both of them his blessing. Matoba and Natori were still throwing insults at each other, but Natsume felt, that they had probably already behaved like this even during the time where they had been dating. They were like fire and water.

Soon the sun started to set and while the yokai were still busy with celebrating Matoba suddenly got up and walked a few steps away from the crowd.
Natsume meant to follow him, but when he was about to get up, Madara stopped him once more.

“About Matoba...if you really like him...I accept it.”

“Thanks Sensei.” Natsume patted Madara’s soft fur.

“Now go after him.”

Natsume’s smile turned bright and he quickly run over towards Matoba.

“Hey, you all right?”

“Of course, more than all right.”

Matoba slung his arms around Natsume’s waist and pulled him close.

“Just thought a little more privacy would be nice.”

Natsume beamed and him and put his own hands on the other’s back.

“You know, I don’t think I asked you yet. But would you like to come and live with me? Forever?”

“What? Yes, yes of course!”

Natsume was so overwhelmed he hid his face and leaned against Matoba’s chest.

“You can bring Madara, too, if you have to.”

He couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

“Thank you Seiji, for everything.”

With this Natsume leaned back and they kissed, until they heard a scream from behind and something hairy sprung between them.

“No kissing!! I just only agreed to you dating! Don’t overdo it!!”

Everyone laughed and they celebrated way into the night.